| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication: | 2003 |
| Authors: | Clermont, A., E. Zippel, H. H. Hilger |
| Journal: | Feddes Repert. |
| Volume: | 114 |
| Pagination: | 58–70 |
| Abstract: | The Corn Gromwell (Buglossoides arvensis) has two Central European subspecies, B. arvensis subsp. arvensis and B. arvensis subsp. sibthorpiana. The ITS1-region of 55 European samples was amplified and sequenced and it yielded a 238 bp fragment, which consistently differed by 15 substitutions between the two subspecies. The results suggest that the two subspecies indeed represent two independent taxa and have been confused mainly because of their morphological plasticity. Because of this confusion, distribution and abundance were poorly understood. The subspecies as here redefined can be distinguished as follows: B. arvensis subsp. arvensis has oblong cotyledons, a horizontal gynobase, an unthickened pedicel in fruit, and a cream-coloured corolla. B. arvensis subsp. sibthorpiana has circular cotyledons, an oblique gynobase, an obliquely thickened pedicel in fruit, and a light blue to (more rarely) cream-coloured corolla. The two taxa show some degree of ecological differentiation: B. arvensis subsp. arvensis is only found as a weed in winter cereals, whereas B. arvensis subsp. sibthorpiana is occasionally found as a weed in fields, but also on dry grasslands, sandy waste sites and road sides, and in dry, open forests. |