Evaluation of Morphological Diversity in Some Iranian Accessions Primrose (Primula heterochroma Stapf.)

Primose (Primula heterochroma Stapf.) is an endemic plant in the north of Iran. In this study, morphological differences between the short-styled and long-styled plants of 17 regions of this area were evaluated. The results of morphological traits (leaf length, leaf number, number of flowers, calyx length, corolla tube length, petal length, ovary height, style length, filament length, anther length) show significant differences in all traits. The highest mean value of stem length (62.82 mm), leaf length (73.02 mm) and leaf width (39.04 mm) have observed in the long-styled flowers, while the highest mean value of leaf number (12.88) was observed in the short-styled flowers. The maximum (7.84) and minimum (6.86) mean values of number of flowers per plants were recorded in long-styled and short-styled flowers, respectively. The mean value of width and length of sepal in long-styled flowers were higher than in short-style flowers. The highest mean value of style height (11.48 mm) has observed in the short-styled flowers, while the lowest mean value of style height (5.88 mm) has observed in the long-styled flowers. Also flowers of short-styled had the longer Corolla diameter, corolla tube length and corolla tube diameter than long-styled flowers. In terms of filament length and anther length, the highest mean value observed in the short-styled flowers. Cluster analysis of accessions on the morphological characters separated the accessions into 3 groups. The reported data confirm the existence of the high morphological diversity between the long-styled and short styled of primrose Iranian accession and can be a good resource for breeding programs of this plant.