107 Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis Studia Naturae, 2: 107–113, 2017, ISSN 2543-8832 DOI: 10.24917/25438832.2.8 Anatoliy A. Khapugin Joint Directorate of the Mordovia State Nature Reserve and National Park “Smolny”, Republic of Mordovia, Saransk, Russia, *hapugin88@yandex.ru. A record of Silene viscaria (L.) Jess. (Caryophyllaceae) with achromatic flowers in the Mordovia State Nature Reserve (Central Russia) Introduction Silene viscaria (L.) Jess. (syn.: Lychnis viscaria L., Steris viscaria (L.) Ra�n., Viscar- ia viscosa Asch., V. vulgaris Rohl.) is a perennial 25–80 cm high herb: stem erect, green, not branching in lower portion, glabrous, upper portion of the upper in- ternodes glutinous, with two to �ve distinct internodes (Clapham et al., 1981; Gu- banov et al., 2003). It inhabits dry grasslands, open forests, forest clearings, and ledges (Kurtto, Wesenberg, 2001; Gubanov et al., 2003). S. viscaria is distributed in most of Europe excluding the Iberian Peninsula, Northern Scandinavia, Northern Russia, most of South Italy, and Southern Greece (Jalas, Suominen, 1986). More- over, it is an occasional and alien garden species in eastern North America (Mor- ton, 2005). In�orescences are compound dichasia, lax or slightly congested. Each of them bear about 20–25 �owers. �e �owers are pollinated by insects, mainly bumblebees and butter�ies (Jennersten, 1988). �e seeds are dispersed by gravity. In most literature, the colour of S. viscaria �owers is indicated as purple, purple-red, pink, or crimson (Clapham et al., 1981; Gubanov et al., 2003; Morton, 2005; Frajman et al., 2013). Only few authors indicate cases of achromatism for S. viscaria �owers (Gu- banov et al., 2003; Frajman et al., 2013). Moreover, there is a lack of data on di�erences of white-�ower, and plants with normal coloured �owers. In particular, we cannot evalu- ate the frequency of their registering of the existence/absence of morphological di�er- ences between white- and purple-�ower plants. Nevertheless, the �owers colours play a signi�cant role both for plants and their insect pollinators (Miller et al., 2011), because insects discriminate a wide range of patterns and shapes (Dyer et al., 2008; Hempel de Ibarra et al., 2015), and entomophillous plants are highly dependent of insects. �at is why, in this study, we aimed to compare some morphological parameters of generative plants with achromatic �owers and individuals with purple ones in the same coenopopulations in conditions of the Mordovia State Nature Reserve (Central Russia). A na to liy A . K ha pu gi n 108 Material and methods �e �eld investigations were carried out at the southern border of the Federal Pro- tected Area, Mordovia State Nature Reserve (54°7504ʹN; 43°4016ʹE), in June 2017. Population studies were conducted according to Aleksandrova (1964) and Khapugin et al. (2014). �ree study plots (1×1 m) were established in Silene viscaria coenopop- ulations where individuals with achromatic �owers were found. �e composition of accompanying �ora was recorded within square plots 10×10 m situated around small (1 m2) study plots established for the study of S. viscaria individuals. Assessment of the S. viscaria individuals status was carried out on the basis of the morphological parameters of generative plants (20 plants with achromatic �owers vs. 57 plant with normally coloured �owers): height of plants, number of whorls of lateral branches per an in�orescence, number of �owers per an in�orescence, length of an in�orescence, and the percentage of an in�orescence length from a plants height. �e nomenclature and the taxonomy of the plant taxa of the accompanying �ora (Appendix 1 – Tab. 1) are presented in accordance with �e Plant List… (2013) and Euro+Med Plantbase (2006–2011). Statistical analysis was performed in MS Excel and PAST (Hammer et al., 2001). �erefore, we used Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to de�ne the main morphometric parameters that di�erentiate both groups of plants in studied hab- itats. For interpretation of the ordination axes, values of measured morphometric parameters were plotted onto a PCA ordination diagram as supplementary environ- mental data. Results and Discussion Among the many species of colourful �owers, sometimes the specimens lacking this colour are referred to as albinotic forms. Examples of 64 species of this type of plant were reported by Czarna (2006) and others. A more detailed description of albinism in orchids was given, e.g., Griesbach (1979), Kohns and Schneider (1993), Selosse et al. (2004), and Jakubska and Schmidt (2005). Examples of albinotic plants are also mentioned by Trudell et al. (2003), and Śliwiński and Jakubska-Busse (2010). Howev- er, there has been no analysis of the albinotic population of Silene viscaria, which was the subject of the investigatation undertaken in this study. As a result of investigations, several records of white-�ower S. viscaria plants were found at the south of the Mor- dovia State Nature Reserve (Fig. 1). �ey occur within the same plant communities with S. viscaria individuals with �owers normally coloured. �e composition of �ora accompanying to S. viscaria in studied locations is present- ed by 37 species belonging to 34 genera and 22 families (Appendix 1 – Tab. 1). Of these, 109 Poaceae (6 species), Plantaginaceae (4 species), Rosaceae (3 species), Asteraceae (3 spe- cies), and Caryophyllaceae (3 species) contain the highest numbers of representatives. �e mean values of morphological parameters were determined for S. viscaria �owering individuals within three study plots. As a result, we found that these pa- rameters are similar between plants with achromatic �owers and plants with typically coloured �owers (Tab. 2). Similarly, Binkenstein and Schaefer (2015) compared �ower colours of di�erent habitats and chromatic / achromatic components of �ower colours from the honeybees’ point of view. �ey found that �ower colours do not di�er be- tween closed forest and open grassland habitats in any chromatic or achromatic aspect both from the bees’ perspective and without any model bias. Fig. 1. Examples of Silene viscaria (L.) Jess. �owering plants with achromatic (A) and normal �owers (B) at the southern border of the Mordovia State Nature Reserve (Photo. A.A. Khapugin) Tab. 2. Morphological traits of Silene viscaria (L.) Jess. �owering plants with di�erent colouring of �owers Parameters Morphological traits Height of individuals [cm] Number of whorls of lateral branches per an in�orescence Number of �owers per an in�orescence Length of an in�orescence [cm] Percent of an in�orescence length to a plant height [%] a n a n a n a n a n M 67.3 55.4 4.3 4.4 40.5 51.0 16.9 16.4 24.9 29.8 m 2.9 1.8 0.2 0.1 2.9 2.8 1.5 0.9 1.8 1.4 min 55.0 35.0 3.0 3.0 26.0 19.0 9.0 8.0 16.1 17.0 max 78.0 71.0 5.0 5.0 56.0 67.0 24.0 25.0 33.6 50.0 Notes: M – mean value, m – error of the mean, min–max – minimal–maximal values; a – plants with achromatic �owers; n – plants with normally coloured �owers A record of Silene viscaria (L.) Jess. (C aryophyllaceae) w ith achrom atic flow ers in the M ordovia S tate N ature R eserve (C entral R ussia) A B A na to liy A . K ha pu gi n 110 In order to determine the presence/absence between both study plots and two groups of S. viscaria plants, we carried out conjoint principal component analysis (PCA) with the involvement of averaged values of all measured morphometric traits in three study plots (Fig. 2). Despite of high similarity in morphological traits, plants with achromatic �owers are slightly higher than �owering individuals of S. viscaria with normally coloured �owers. Although, on the basis of all obtained results, we may conclude that there are not signi�cant di�erences between S. viscaria plants with achromatic �owers and indi- viduals with coloured �owers. We suggest accumulating data on a phenomenon of �owers achromatism amongst di�erent groups of plants in di�erent areas of the world. It will allow the understanding of the frequency of this phenomenon and, perhaps, its relationship with the biological traits of the plants. References Aleksandrova, V.D. (1964). �e study of changes of vegetation cover. In: E.M. Lavrenko, A.A. Korchagina (eds.), Field geobotany. Moscow–Leningrad: Nauka, 399–447. [In Russian] Binkenstein, J., Schaefer, H.M. (2015). Flower colours in temperate forest and grassland habitats: a com- parative study. Arthropod-Plant Interactions, 9, 289–299. DOI: 10.1007/s11829-015-9369-9 Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G., Warburg, E.F. (1981). Flora of the British Isles. London: Cambridge University Press. Czarna, A. (2006). Albinotic �owers in plants widly growing on the area of the Wielkopolska Lowland. Rocznik Akademii Rolniczej w Poznaniu, 378, 37–43. Fig. 2. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) ordination diagram of �owering Silene viscaria individuals with achromatic (grey symbols) and normally coloured (black symbols) �owers for �rst (triangles), sec- ond (circles), and third (squares) study plots; all groups are arranged in accordance to morphologic traits: H – height of individuals, N – number of whorls of lateral branches per an in�orescence, F – number of �owers per an in�orescence, L – length of an in�orescence, P – percentage of an in�orescence length from a plants height 111 Dyer, A.G., Rosa, M.G., Reser, D.H. (2008). Honeybees can recognise images of complex natural scenes for use as potential landmarks. Journal of Experimental Biology, 211(8), 1180–1186. DOI: 10.1242/ jeb.016683. Euro+Med. (2006–2011). Euro+Med PlantBase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. http://ww2.bgbm.org/EuroPlusMed/ Frajman, B., �ollesson, M., Oxelman, B. (2013). Taxonomic revision of Atocion and Viscaria (Sileneae, Caryophyllaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 173(2), 194–210. DOI: 10.1111/boj.12090 Griesbach, R.J. (1979). �e albino form of Epipactis helleborine. American Orchid Society Bulletin, 48(8), 808–809. Gubanov, I.A., Kiseleva, K.V., Novikov, V.S., Tikhomirov, V.N. (2003). Illustrated determinants of plants of the Middle Russia 2: Angiosperms (Dicotyledons: dialypetalous). Moscow: KMK Scienti�c Press Ltd., Institute of Technological Researches. [In Russian] Hammer, Ø., Harper, D.A.T., Ryan, P.D. (2001). PAST: Paleontological statistics so�ware pack-age for ed- ucation and data analysis. Palaeontologia Electronica, 4(1), 1–9. http://palaeo-electronica.org/2001_1/ past/past.pdf Hempel de Ibarra, N., Langridge, K.V, Vorobyev, M. (2015). More than colour attraction: behav- ioural functions of �ower patterns. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 12, 64–70. DOI: 10.1016/j. cois.2015.09.005 Jakubska, A., Schmidt, I. (2005). Chlorophyll-free form of Epipactis albensis Novkov et Rydlo (Orchi- daceae, Neottieae) in the Skarpa Storczyków Nature Reserve near Orsk (Lover Silesia, Poland). Acta Botanica Silesiaca, 2, 151–154. Jalas, J., Suominen, J. (1986). Atlas Florae Europaeae, 7. Caryophyllaceae (Silenoideae). Helsinki: Commit- tee for Mapping the Flora of Europe and Societas Biologica Fennica Vanamo. Jennersten, O. (1988). Pollination of Viscaria vulgaris (Caryophyllaceae): the contributions of diurnal and nocturnal insects to seed set and seed predation. Oikos, 52, 319–327. DOI: 10.2307/3565205 Khapugin, A.A., Vargot, E.V., Chugunov, G.G. (2014). Research methods of vegetative cover of terrestrial ecosystems. In: L.V. Egorov, A.B. Ruchin, A.A. Khapugin, O.N. Artaev (eds.), Methods of �eld envi- ronmental research. Chapter 1. Saransk: Pushta, 4–42. [In Russian] Kohns, P., Schneider, P. (1993). Epipactis muelleri Godfery var. chlorotica. Die Orchidee, 44(2), 104–105. [In German] Kurtto, A., Wesenberg, J. (2001). Viscaria Bernh. In: B. Jonsell (ed.), Flora Nordica, 2. Stockholm: �e Bergius Foundation, �e Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 172–175. Miller, R., Owens, S.J., Rørslett, B. (2011). Plants and colour: Flowers and pollination. Optics & LaserTech- nology, 43, 282–294. DOI: 10.1016/j.optlastec.2008.12.018 Morton, J.K. (2005). Silene. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.), Flora of North America North of Mexico, 5. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 166–214. Selosse, M.A., Faccio, A., Scappaticci, G., Bonfante, P. (2004). Chlorophyllous and achlorophyllous spec- imens of Epipactis microphylla (Neottieae, Orchidaceae) are associated with ectomycorrhizal sep- tomycetes, including tru�es. Microbial Ecology, 47(4), 416–426. DOI: 10.1007/s00248-003-2034-3 Śliwiński, M., Jakubska-Busse, A. (2010). Albinotyczne kwiaty i formy roślin. Zielona Planeta, 2(89), 9–10. http://www.ekoklub.ehost.pl/PKE_OD/images/zp89.pdf [In Polish] �e Plant List. A working list of plant species (2013). �e Plant List. Version 1.1. http://www.theplantlist.org/ Trudell, S.A., Rygiewicz, P.T., Edmonds, R.L. (2003). Nitrogen and carbon stable isotope abundances support the mycoheterotrophic nature and host-speci�city of certain achlorophyllous plants. New Phytologist, 160, 391–401. DOI: 10.1046/j.1469-8137.2003.00876.x. A record of Silene viscaria (L.) Jess. (C aryophyllaceae) w ith achrom atic flow ers in the M ordovia S tate N ature R eserve (C entral R ussia) A na to liy A . K ha pu gi n 112 Appendix 1 Tab. 1. List of plant taxa growing together with Silene viscaria in studied plant communities at the south- ern border of the Mordovia State Nature Reserve No. Species Family Plot 1 Plot 2 Plot 3 1. Achillea millefolium L. Asteraceae + + + 2. Anthoxanthum odoratum L. Poaceae + + + 3. Betula pendula Roth Betulaceae + + 4. Calamagrostis epigejos (L.) Roth Poaceae + 5. Campanula patula L. Campanulaceae + + 6. Convallaria majalis L. Asparagaceae + 7. Festuca valesiaca Schleich. ex Gaudin Poaceae + 8. Fragaria vesca L. Rosaceae + + 9. Frangula alnus Mill. Rhamnaceae + 10. Galium mollugo L. Rubiaceae + + + 11. Hypericum perforatum L. Hypericaceae + + + 12. Leucanthemum vulgare L. Asteraceae + 13. Linaria vulgaris Mill. Plantaginaceae + 14. Luzula pilosa (L.) Willd. Juncaceae + + + 15. Malus domestica Borkh. Rosaceae + 16. Melampyrum nemorosum L. Orobanchaceae + 17. M. pratense L. Orobanchaceae + + + 18. Melica nutans L. Poaceae + + 19. Orthilia secunda (L.) House Ericaceae + 20. Phleum pratense L. Poaceae + 21. Pilosella o cinarum Vaill. Asteraceae + + + 22. Pimpinella saxifraga L. Apiaceae + 23. Pinus sylvestris L. Pinaceae + + + 24. Plantago lanceolata L. Plantaginaceae + 25. Platanthera bifolia (L.) Rich. Orchidaceae + 26. Poa pratensis L. Poaceae + + 27. Prunella vulgaris L. Lamiaceae + 28. Ranunculus polyanthemos L. Ranunculaceae + 29. Rumex acetosella L. Polygonaceae + 30. Sorbus aucuparia L. Rosaceae + + 31. Stellaria graminea L. Caryophyllaceae + 32. S. holostea L. Caryophyllaceae + 33. Silene viscaria (L.) Jess. Caryophyllaceae + + + 34. Veronica chamaedrys L. Plantaginaceae + + + 35. V. o cinalis L. Plantaginaceae + 36. Vicia sylvatica L. Fabaceae + 37. Viola mirabilis L. Violaceae + 113 Abstract Silene viscaria (L.) Jess. is a common species of Central Russian �ora. It has attractive purple, crimson, or dark-pink in�orescences. Some literature sources indicate the possibility of white-colour �owers. However, there are no reliable published evidences of these cases. In this report, a record of S. viscaria plants with achromatic, white, �owers at the southern border of the Mordovia State Nature Reserve is presented. Some morphological traits of �owering individuals were measured: the height of reproductive individuals, the number of whorls of lateral branches per an in�orescence, the number of �owers per an in�orescence, the length of an in�orescence, and the percentage of an in�orescence length from a �owering plants height. Data on the �ora accompanying S. viscaria are presented. As a result, no signi�cant di�erences between plants with achromatic �owers and plants with coloured �owers have been found. However, the height of white-�ower individuals was slightly higher. We suggest accumulating data on a phenomenon of the �ower’s achromatism amongst di�erent groups of plants in order to try to understand the frequency of this phenomenon and perhaps its impact on plants biology. Key words: achromatism, �ower colour, morphological features, plant population, Russia Received: [2017.07.09] Accepted: [2017.11.14] Stanowisko Silene viscaria (L.) Jess. (Caryophyllaceae) z kwiatami achromatycznymi w Rezerwacie Przyrody Mordovia (Rosja Centralna) Streszczenie Silene viscaria (L.) Jess. jest gatunkiem pospolitym we �orze Centralnej Rosji. Ma atrakcyjne �oletowe, szkarłatne lub ciemnoróżowe kwiatostany. Niektóre źródła literatury wskazywały na możliwość występowa- nia kwiatów w kolorze białym u tego gatunku. Jednak dotychczas nie było wiarygodnych opublikowanych danych na ten temat. W niniejszym opracowaniu zaprezentowano stanowisko S. viscaria z achromatycz- nymi, białymi kwiatami, zlokalizowane na południowej granicy Rezerwatu Przyrody Mordovia. W trakcie badań zmierzono niektóre cechy morfologiczne osobników kwitnących: wysokość osobników reproduk- cyjnych, liczbę okółków odgałęzień bocznych na kwiatostan, liczbę kwiatów na kwiatostan, długość kwia- tostanu, procent długości kwiatostanu z długości rośliny kwitnącej. Przedstawiono również dane dotyczące �ory towarzyszącej S. viscaria. W rezultacie nie stwierdzono różnic istotnych między roślinami o achro- matycznych kwiatach i roślinami o kolorowych kwiatach. Jednak długość osobników z białymi kwiatami była nieco większa. Byłoby wskazane gromadzenie dalszych danych dotyczących zjawiska achromatyzmu kwiatów wśród różnych grup roślin, aby spróbować zrozumieć częstotliwość tego zjawiska i być może jego wpływ na biologię roślin. Słowa kluczowe: achromatyzm, kwiaty barwne, cechy morfologiczne, populacje roślin, Rosja Information on the author Anatoliy A. Khapugin PhD, Senior Researcher of the Joint Directorate of the Mordovia State Nature Reserve and National Park “Smolny”. At present, his research and professional interests cover the following topics: �oristic and geo- botanical studies, biodiversity and conservation, rare plants, population-based studies, forestry, and in- vasive plant species. A record of Silene viscaria (L.) Jess. (C aryophyllaceae) w ith achrom atic flow ers in the M ordovia S tate N ature R eserve (C entral R ussia)