Abstract
Elwendia stewartiana (Apiaceae), formerly treated as Bunium stewartianum Nasir, exhibits considerable morphological variation across its distribution in the northwestern Himalaya. Several populations were examined to assess the extent of intraspecific variation in Jammu and Kashmir. The present study documents substantial variation in morphology, vegetative and reproductive characters, floral sexuality (monoecious and andromonoecious individuals), ovary and stigma morphology, and seed characteristics. The observed variation demonstrates considerable phenotypic diversity within the species and highlights the importance of evaluating multiple morphological characters when assessing intraspecific diversity. Finally, provides a comprehensive account of the range of variation and establishes a foundation for future taxonomic, evolutionary, and population-level investigations.
References
- Adelifar, N. & Rezanejad, F. (2020) Studying the morphological diversity of Bunium paucifolium and some Elwendia species (Apiaceae). Cogent Biology 6 (1): 1809820. https://doi.org/10.1080/23312025.2020.1809820
- Andersen, S.B., Christiansen, I. & Farestveit, B. (1990) Carrot (Daucus carota L.): In vitro production of haploids and field trials. In: Bajaj, Y.P.S. (Ed.) Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry, Vol. 12. Haploids in Crop Improvement I. Springer, Berlin, pp. 393–402. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-61499-6_20
- Barrett, S.C.H. & Eckert, C.G. (1990) Variation and evolution of mating systems in seed plants. In: Kawano, S. (Ed.) Biological Approaches and Evolutionary Trends in Plants. Academic Press, Tokyo, pp. 229–254. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-402960-6.50019-6
- Boquete, M.T. (2021) Plant epigenetics: phenotypic and functional diversity beyond the DNA sequence. American Journal of Botany 108 (4): 553–558. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.1645
- Degtjareva, G.V., Kljuykov, E.V., Samigullin, T.H., Valiejo-Roman, C.M. & Pimenov, M.G. (2009) Molecular appraisal of Bunium L. and related arid and subarid geophytic Apiaceae (Apioideae) taxa of the ancient Mediterranean. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 160: 149–170. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00970.x
- Diggle, P.K. (1994) The expression of andromonoecy in Solanum hirtum: phenotypic plasticity and ontogenetic contingency. American Journal of Botany 81: 1354–1365. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1537-2197.1994.tb11457.x
- Kljuykov, E.V., Zakharova, E.A., Degtjareva, G.V. & Samigullin, T.H. (2023) Infrageneric classification of Elwendia (Apiaceae) with a restored species. Phytotaxa 595 (2): 149–168. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.595.2.3
- Kour, K., Hamal, I.A. & Gupta, S.K. (1992) Chromosomal variability in Scaligeria stewartiana (Nasir) E. Nasir. Journal of Cytology and Genetics 27: 43–45.
- Pimenov, M.G. & Kljuykov, E.V. (1996) Gongylostaxis, a new genus of Umbelliferae endemic to Afghanistan. Edinburgh Journal of Botany 53: 187–191.
- Richards, A.J. (1997) Plant Breeding Systems. 2nd ed. Chapman & Hall, London.
- Perrino, E.V., Mahmoud, Z.N.A., Valerio, F., Tomaselli, V., Wagensommer, R.P., Trani, A. (2023) Synecology of Lagoecia cuminoides L. in Italy and evaluation of functional compounds presence in its water or hydroalcoholic extracts. Scientific Reports 13: 20906. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-48065-w
- Pimenov, M.G. & Kljuykov, E.V. (2013) Elwendia (Umbelliferae–Apioideae), a new genus for Bunium sect. Elwendia and related species. Plant Systematics and Evolution 299: 985–1010.
- Rodelius, I.B. & Iler, A.M. (2025) Does pollination interact with the abiotic environment to affect plant reproduction? Annals of Botany 135 (1–2): 141–152. [PMID: 38864775; PMCID: PMC11805941] https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcae095
- Zakharova, E.A., Degtjareva, G.V., Kljuykov, E.V. & Tilney, P.M. (2014) The taxonomic affinity of Carum piovanii Chiov. and some Bunium species (Apiaceae). South African Journal of Botany 94: 122–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2014.06.011
- Zhao, H., Huo, S., Xing, Y., Zhang, S., Li, G., Liu, Y., Jin, C., Li, F. & Ge, X. (2026) Ecological adaptation mechanisms underlying successful plant reproduction. Advanced Science 13: e202520550. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202520550
