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. 2024 Jan 16;13(2):251.
doi: 10.3390/plants13020251.

Clinopodium L. Taxa from the Balkans-Are There Unique Leaf Micromorphological and Phytochemical Patterns?

Smiljana Janković  1 , Ana Alimpić Aradski  1 , Tanja Dodoš  1 , Jelica Novaković  1 , Stefan Ivanović  2 , Ljubodrag Vujisić  3 , Petar D Marin  1 , Nemanja Rajčević  1
Affiliations

Clinopodium L. Taxa from the Balkans-Are There Unique Leaf Micromorphological and Phytochemical Patterns?

Smiljana Janković et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

The concept of the genus Clinopodium L. has changed considerably since its first description. Most of the currently accepted species of the genus have traditionally been treated as separate genera in the group Satureja sensu lato: Clinopodium L., Calamintha sensu Miller or Moench, and Acinos sensu Miller or Moench. This study aimed to gain a better insight into the species diversity of Clinopodium L. from the Balkans by analyzing the taxa that have traditionally been placed in separate genera. The alkane profile and the micromorphological characteristics of the leaves are analyzed. The leaves are visualized using scanning electron microscopy, and alkanes are isolated using n-hexane as a solvent and analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The alkane profile showed the differentiation of the Acinos-group from the other taxa based on the dominant n-C31, while most of the other taxa contained n-C33 as the dominant alkane. The micromorphological features also showed clear differences between the previously recognized genera, especially in the capitate trichomes. The results showed that micromorphological patterns are highly variable in certain groups of the genus Clinopodium.

Keywords: Clinopodium; bioclimatic parameters; branched alkanes; cuticle; microadaptations; micromorphological traits; n-alkanes; the Balkans.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
DA Scatter plot. AC—C. acinos; AL—C. alpinum subsp. alpinum; ALA—C. alpinum subsp. albanicum; ALH—C. alpinum subsp. hungaricum; ME—C. menthifolium; PU—C. pulegium; TH—C. thymifolium; SU—C. suaveolens; VA—C. vardarense; VU—C. vulgare.
Figure 2
Figure 2
HCA cladogram (Sq. Mahalanobis distance, UPGMA) based on leaf alkane profiles.AC—C. acinos; AL—C. alpinum subsp. alpinum; ALA—C. alpinum subsp. albanicum; ALH—C. alpinum subsp. hungaricum; ME—C. menthifolium; PU—C. pulegium; TH—C. thymifolium; SU—C. suaveolens; VA—C. vardarense; VU—C. vulgare. Arrows pointing upwards indicate that a certain alkane is present in high concentrations and arrows pointing downwards indicate that a certain alkane is present in low concentrations.
Figure 3
Figure 3
SEM micrographs of all trichome types observed in examined Clinopodium species. P—peltate trichomes; C1a–C2e—different subtypes of capitate trichomes; NG1–NG3—non-glandular trichomes.
Figure 4
Figure 4
SEM micrographs of all observed Clinopodium taxa. For population details, cf. Table 3; adaxial (1) and abaxial leaf side (2). AC1—C. acinos; AL2—C. alpinum subsp. alpinum; ALA1—C. alpinum subsp. albanicum; ALH1—C. alpinum subsp. hungaricum; SU4—C. suaveolens; ME2—C. menthifolium; PU1—C. pulegium; TH1—C. thymifolium; VA2—C. vardarense; VU1—C. vulgare.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Hierarchical cluster analysis (Dice similarity, UPGMA) of abaxial leaf side trichomes’ presence/absence matrix. Bootstrap values higher than 60 are shown in nodes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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