engleski

Natural hybridization between Salvia officinalis L. and Salvia fruticosa mill. (Lamiaceae) on the island of Vis (Croatia): evidence from morphological and molecular data

Dalmatian sage (Salvia officinalis L.) and Greek sage (S. fruticosa Mill.) are two closely related species. While Dalmatian sage is naturally widespread on the Apennines and eastern Adriatic coast, Greek sage is naturally widespread in the eastern Mediterranean. The island of Vis is the only place in Croatia where S. fruticosa has been noticed. The presence of this species in Croatia, far away from its natural range, may be related to ancient Greek colonisation of the island in the fourth century BCE. From that time Greek sage probably escaped from gardens and vineyards and successfully naturalised western part of the island. Besides sharing the same habitat on the island of Vis, Dalmatian and Greek sage have the same chromosome number (2n = 14) and their flowering times overlap. The fact that the artificial hybrids between these two species are known and commercially exploited encouraged us to study spontaneous hybridization on the island of Vis. A total of 79 plant samples representing both parental species and putative hybrids were analysed using morphological and microsatellite (SSR) markers. Results of both approaches strongly supported the existence of the hybridisation events. Evolutionary, conservation and especially commercial implications of this hybridization were discussed.

Salvia; hybridization; microsatellites; morphological markers

Croatian Science Foundation Project No 09.01/246: Epigenetic vs. genetic diversity in natural plant populations: A case study of Croatian endemic Salvia species