Ploidy, geographical distribution and morphological differentiation of Parasenecio auriculata (Senecioneae; Asteraceae) in Japan.

Parasenecio auriculata is a woodland perennial herb widely distributed in Northeastern Asia, constituted by a poorly understood polyploidy with a diploid (2n = 2x = 60) and a tetraploid (2n = 4x = 120). In this study, for a better understanding of the polyploidal evolution, cytogeography and morphological variation were analyzed in Japanese P. auriculata, including two varieties; var. bulbifera endemic to central Hokkaido and var. kamtschatica widely distributed in northern Honshu and Hokkaido. The occurrence of two polyploidal levels was reconfirmed. While var. bulbifera is predominantly tetraploid, var. kamtschatica is comprised of diploid and tetraploid. Morphological variation among 22 quantitative characteristics is continuous and not distinctive among cytotypes or varieties, but plant size tended to be larger in the order, diploid of var. kamtschatica, var. bulbifera, and tetraploid of var. kamtschatica. The cytotype distribution showed a conspicuous geographical pattern. Besides var. bulbifera endemic to the central Hokkaido, the diploid of var. kamtschatica is mainly found in Southern Hokkaido, and the tetraploid has a disjunct distribution in eastern and northern Hokkaido and northern Honshu. Such a geographical pattern is possibly attributable to the differentiation of climatic preference among cytotypes and varieties, and may have been established in association with the climatic cline along the Japanese archipelago.