Breeding system, germination, and phenotypic differences among populations of Saxifraga aizoides (Saxifragaceae) at the periphery of its alpine distribution

• Published in: Nordic Journal of Botany
• Main Authors: Meier, Christine, Holderegger, Rolf
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1998
• Subjects: Plant Science; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Arctic; Saxifraga aizoides
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1756-1051.1998.tb01550.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1756-1051.1998.tb01550.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1756-1051.1998.tb01550.x

We investigated breeding system, germination capacity, and phenotypic variation within and among several populations of the arctic‐alpine Saxifraga aizoides from the periphery of its alpine distribution area in Switzerland. Flowers of S. aizoides proved to be self‐compatible, but crossing yielded much higher seed set than selfing. Agamospermy did not occur. This result fits well into a general lay‐out of the common breeding system in the genus Saxifraga. Germination of the pioneer species S. aizoides was fast and high in most populations and for most stratification and germination conditions. Nevertheless, a small, isolated population of this species exhibited a lower germination rate, possibly caused by enhanced inbreeding. Phenotypic variation, especially in petal colour and leaf shape, indicated considerable genetic variation within and among populations of S. aizoides. High germination capacity, successful selfing, and the possibility to maintain substantial intrapopulational genetic variation due to high outbreeding may play decisive roles in the maintenance of biogeographically outlying, relic populations of S. aizoides in the Swiss Plateau as well as in the colonization of new habitat patches.