Towards a better understanding of polyploid Sorbus (Rosaceae) from Bosnia and Herzegovina (Balkan Peninsula), including description of a novel, tetraploid apomictic species

Sorbus subgenus Soraria encompasses taxa originating from spontaneous hybridization between members of subgenera Aria and Sorbus disjunctly distributed across Europe and Asia. Using molecular data (amplified fragment length polymorphisms, plastid DNA sequences and nuclear microsatellites), flow cytometry (allowing for the determination of ploidy and mode of reproduction) and morphology, we disentangled the relationships among polyploid cytotypes and explored their relationships with their diploid ancestors. Among others, we focused on a large, geographically isolated hybrid population in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Molecular and morphological analyses confirmed the distinct position of this population in relation to its parental (S.aria and S.aucuparia) and other hybridogenous taxa originating independently from the same parents in different parts of Europe. After establishing its genetic and morphological divergence, we describe the isolated Bosnian population as a new tetraploid apomictic species, Sorbus bosniaca, discuss its taxonomic status and propose conservation measures to protect the locus classicus of this new Balkan endemic.(c) 2015 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 178, 670-685.