Typha glauca Godron and its parental plants in Poland: taxonomic characteristics

Natural interspecific hybridization between Typha latifolia L. and Typha angustifolia L. was analyzed by morpho-anatomical and molecular methods to determine whether the hybrid Typha glauca Godr. is present in Poland and to identify the best diagnostic traits for its identification. Eighty-three samples of the Typha species were collected. Nine random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers provided 12 fragments specific for T. angustifolia and eight fragments specific for T. latifolia. DNA of all sampled individuals was analyzed with 20 diagnostic RAPD markers. The morpho-anatomical variability of T. glauca F₁ was found to be quite similar to that observed in parental plants. All of the 41 traits examined in the hybrids overlapped with those observed in the parents, however, the hybrids were visibly closer to T. angustifolia than to T. latifolia. The most discriminate characteristics were the length and pedicel width, as well as the epidermal cell thickness located above vascular bundles in leaf blades. Moreover, preliminary observations of seed sculpture showed that the length of testa cells could also be used to identify T. glauca. Clusters and the hybrid index (for molecular and morphological data) were highly coincident and support the hybridization hypothesis.