Notes on the Taxonomy of Salix vitellina (Salicaceae)

• Published in: Plants (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 14; p. 2610
• Main Authors: Marchenko, Alexander M, Kuzovkina, Yulia A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 11-07-2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Flowers & plants; Hybrids; Lectotypes; Linnaeus’s specimen; Morphology; Ovaries; Ovules; Physical characteristics; S. alba; S. euxina; S. × fragilis f. vitellina; Salix; Taxonomy; Valves; Willow; willow; S. alba; S. euxina; S. × fragilis f. vitellina; Linnaeus’s specimen
• ISSN: 2223-7747; 2223-7747
• DOI: 10.3390/plants12142610

L., or golden willow, was described by C. Linnaeus in 1753. It was later considered to be affiliated with
, and its taxonomic rank has been changed to variety, subspecies, and form. A recent proposal designated it as a form of
×
. The goal of this study was to verify the taxonomic designation of
using morphological characteristics including ovule number. A few specimens of
from Europe and North America, including the lectotype LINN1158.13, were analyzed. It was recorded that
has an ovule index of 6-10, with most valves with four and five ovules and less than 50% of valves with five ovules. These ovule parameters were similar to those of
. The other floral characteristics also indicated that
is associated with
. No signs of androgyny or flower aberrations, commonly occurring in willow hybrids, were found in the specimens of
. Thus, the analyses did not corroborate the hybrid origin of
. The ovule analysis also confirmed that f.
with orange-red stems is also a taxon of
, which differs from f.
by a greater ovule index of 12-16.