Hybridization and morphogenetic variation in the invasive alien Fallopia (Polygonaceae) complex in Belgium

The invasive alien knotweeds, Fallopia spp. (Polygonaceae), are some of the most troublesome invasive species in Europe and North America. Invasive success in Fallopia may be enhanced by multiple hybridization events. We examined the pattern of hybridization and its evolutionary consequences in Belgium with a concerted analysis of ploidy levels (chromosome counts and flow cytometry), morphological variation, and genetic variation (RAPDs). At least four taxa with different ploidy levels were part of the pattern of invasion in Belgium. Hybrid F. Xbohemica with various chromosome numbers restored the genotypic diversity that was lacking in the parental species. Hybrid genotypes were mainly assigned to a specific genetic pool and not to a mixture between the genetic pools of the putative parental species as would be expected for hybrids. Parental species and hexaploid hybrids differed significantly for a set of well-defined morphological characters, enabling future researchers to distinguish these taxa. On the basis of our results, the importance of hybridization has probably been underestimated in large parts of the adventive range of alien Fallopia species, pointing to the need for concerted molecular and morphological analyses in the study of the evolutionary consequences of hybridization.