COMPARISON OF COLCHICINE CONTENT BETWEEN HYSTERANTHOUS AND SYNANTHOUS COLCHICUM SPECIES IN DIFFERENT SEASONS

In order to compare of different phonological stages and seasonal changes of colchicine content between hysteranthous and synanthous colchicum species, amount of colchicine was determined in Colchicum speciosum Steven, C. kotschyi Bioss and C. robustum Stefanov, in different seasons, 2009-2010. The observations under wild conditions showed, that the leaves of appeared with flowers in the same stage of life cycle (synanthous) in C. robustum, while in case of C. kotschyi and C. speciosum flowers occurred first and leaves later, in another developmental stage (hysteranthous). Seed's colchicine content in C. robustum, C. kotschyi and C. speciosum was obtained as 1.28, 0.46 and 0.92 mg g-1 dry weight, respectively. Corm's colchicine content was higher in C. speciosum than the other species in all seasons. The highest colchicine content of corm in C. speciosum was obtained in winter and autumn (2.17 and 2.13 mg g-1 dry weight, respectively), while in C. robustum and C. kotschyi it was found in autumn, 0.49 and 0.77 mg g-1 dry weight, respectively. The lowest colchicine content of corms was obtained in summer, when the corms were dormant before flowering stage, in C. speciosum and C. kotschyi, 0.131 and 0.0058 mg g-1 dry weight, respectively, whilst in C. robustum obtained in winter, 0.08 mg g-1 dry weight, synchronous to flowering and vegetative growth. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]