Delphinium L. subgen. Delphinium in the iberian peninsula and north Africa: a new taxonomic approach

Both the microspecies (P.1-1. Davis, B. Pawlowsky) and macrospecies concepts (R. Maire) were used during the 1960s to obtain a useful taxonomic system for the annual species of the genus Delphinium (Ranunculaceae). A reappraisal of this group on the basis of new data on breeding systems, pollination ecology, karyotype evolution and isozyme variation is proposed. The annual species as a whole may be considered as a monophyletic group (some gene duplications might indicate a significant evolutionary node), mainly outcrossing and without reproductive barriers (chromosome number, karyotype structure, flower architecture or pollinator behaviour) between species, other than geographic isolation. It forms a continuum around the Mediterranean basin extending to the Irano-Turanian Region. The preliminary electrophoretic results suggest a pattern of very short genetic distances both at species and population levels. A new taxononiical approach involving a degree of nomenclatural renewal and the description of two new North African taxa, Delphinium favargeri C. Blanche, Molero & Simon R and Delphinium ser. Cossoniana C. Blanche, Molero & Simon P. are presented.