Sesleria is a grass genus of c. 30 species, with highest diversity in SE Europe, and an important constitute of grassland vegetation in mountainous areas. Besides inferring the general phylogeny, we will in more detail examine some Balkan groups, as S. juncifolia and S. rigida agg.

Coordinators:
A. Alegro, D. Lakušić and P. Schönswetter

Selected results
Reconstruction of relationships among populations of the morphologically polymorphic and taxonomically intricate Sesleria rigida sensu Florae Europeae based on Amplified Fragment Polymorphisms (AFLPs) revealed four clearly differentiated genetic groups that did only partly follow actual taxonomic concepts, but were strictly allopatric. While some of the previously described taxa constitute distinct genetic entities, others have no taxonomic value. Intersecting our AFLP data with ploidy-level information obtained from all genetically investigated individuals as well as with chromosome counts revealed that tetraploid individuals prevail, while octoploids occur only within S. filifolia. Lack of AFLP divergence between tetra- and octoploids suggests an autopolyploid origin of the latter. The genetic differentiation pattern was reflected by morphologic differentiation.