Relationship between variations in ecological conditions and the dynamics of intra-specific morphological diversity of Artemisia herba-alba Asso in Algeria

Abstract

This research work focused on the study of morphological diversity in 270 types of Artemisia herba-alba, known as “white wormwood,” from different bioclimatic stages and its relationship with the distribution and adaptation of the species. The phenotypic parameters studied include the aerial vegetative part of the leaves and the flowers. The existing relationships between the ecological conditions and the genetic dynamics expressed by the morphological polymorphism of the populations concerned have been established. Results obtained allowed us to admit that we have two ecotypes in Algeria: the first one has five flowers per capitulum and can be found at the level of the three bioclimatic floors studied; whereas the second one has eight flowers per capitulum occupying only the territories with a Saharan climate. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) and UPGMA dendrogram allowed us to observe a very significant intra- and inter-population morphological polymorphism at the level of each site and between the different sites. This wide variability thus observed for A. herba-alba could help research on a large collection of individuals and therefore to choose the most effective ecotypes in order to reintroduce this species in the steppe areas of Algeria.

Keywords

• white wormwood
• morphological polymorphism
• ecotype
• adaptation
• bioclimatic stage