Morphological variability of <i>Consolida regalis</i> seeds of south-eastern and central Europe

The aim of the paper was to analyse the morphological variability of <i>Consolida regalis</i> Gray (common name Forking Larkspur) seeds in populations derived from different geographic origins. A review of available literature showed scarcity of data on seed sizes and a complete lack of information describing the morphological variation of <i>C. regalis</i> seeds in the geographic gradient. Therefore, the main aim of the study was to analyse the morphological variability of <i>C. regalis</i> seeds from south-eastern and central Europe. Larkspur seeds, collected during expeditions spanning 2012–2014 from 29 sites located in Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Poland, were the study material. Four biometric traits were analysed, that is, the length, the width, the perimeter and the area of the seeds. The pictures of the surface structure and sculpture of the seeds were made using the scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed differences in biometric traits and the seed sculpture across the latitudinal transect. There was a trend observed of an increase in the length, the width, the perimeter and the area of the seeds towards the northern border of the geographic species range. Besides the geographic factor, the morphological variation of larkspur seeds was affected by environmental conditions (mainly temperature) in which plants grew and availability of habitat resources.本研究旨在分析不同地理起源种群中*Consolida regalis* Gray（通用名：叉花飞燕草，Forking Larkspur）种子的形态变异特性。现有文献调研显示，关于该物种种子尺寸的研究数据较为匮乏，且完全缺乏针对地理梯度下*C. regalis*种子形态变异的相关报道。因此，本研究的核心目标为分析产自欧洲东南部与中部地区的*C. regalis*种子的形态变异特性。本研究的实验材料为2012-2014年野外考察期间，从保加利亚、罗马尼亚、摩尔多瓦及波兰境内的29个采样点采集的叉花飞燕草种子。本研究共分析了四项形态测量性状：种子的长度、宽度、周长与表面积。研究人员借助扫描电子显微镜（SEM）拍摄了种子的表面结构与纹饰图像。研究结果显示，沿纬度样带分布的种群，其种子的形态测量性状与表面纹饰均存在显著差异。在该物种的地理分布范围内，种子的长度、宽度、周长及表面积均呈现出向分布区北部边界逐渐增大的趋势。除地理因素外，叉花飞燕草种子的形态变异还受到植株生长环境条件（主要为温度）以及生境资源可获得性的影响。