Morpho-anatomical differentiation of the Balkan endemic species Teucrium arduini L. (Lamiaceae)

Teucrium arduini L. is an endemic of the Mediterranean and Sub-Mediterranean part of the western Balkans. The ecological plasticity, i.e. inter-population differentiation, of the species Teucrium arduini was analyzed on the basis of morpho-anatomical variability of six populations from different types of vegetation. Univariant statistic analysis included 22 quantitative characters related to leaf and stem anatomy and morphology. The analyses of plants from these spacially separated populations confirmed that T. arduini belongs to the category of xerophytes with malacophylous leaves.