Cytotaxonomical studies on Vicia cracca L. and V. tenuifolia Roth III. The relation between karyotype and morphology

This study concerns the following perennial vetches: Vicia incana Gouan (2n = 12), V. dalmatica Kern. (2n = 12), V. tenuifolia Roth (2n = 24) and V. cracca L. (2n = 14, 2n = 28). These have all at some time or other been included in the last or the last two species. The two cytodemes of V. cracca differ in certain quantitative characters but cannot always be distinguished morphologically. One triploid and one tetraploid hybrid were obtained between them, suggesting the possibility of gene exchange. The taxa with the basic numbers 6 and 7 form two distinct evolutionary lines, each with its own basic karyotype. Within the 6-chromosome sub-group, V. tenuifolia combines many of the characters of the two diploids, which suggests a close evolutionary relationship between these three taxa.