Pinus uliginosa from Czarne Bagno peat-bog (Sudetes) compared morphologically to related Pinus species

Abstract

Pinus uliginosa is an interesting taxon from the Pinus mugo complex with controversial systematic position andspecific characteristics, intermediate among P. mugo, P. uncinata and P. sylvestris. The peat-bog pine is rare andprotectedin Poland. All its’ known populations have a relict character andare slightly different from each other. The aim of the present study was comparison of the individuals from the Czarne Bagno of the “Torfowisko pod Zieleńcem” Nature Reserve (Sudetes), determined in the field on the basis of morphological characteristics as Pinus uliginosa, with four samples of this taxon from the northern limits of its range in PolandandGer - many andwith Pinus sylvestris, P. mugo and P. uncinata, to verify morphological andtaxonomic relations between them. The material collected from 30 individuals determined as P. uliginosa, was closest to populations of P. uliginosa from the Bory Dolnośląskie, andto P. mugo from the Tatra Mts., concerning the needle characters. The cone characteristics of P. uliginosa individuals from the Czarne Bagno appeared similar to all other of that taxon. In spite of that, the cone characters first of all differentiate P. uliginosa from P. sylvestris, P. mugo and P. uncinata. The combination of needle and cone morphological characters are a good tool to distinguish P. sylvestris, P. uncinata, P. mugo and P. uliginosa with a very high probability