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UNIDAD ASOCIADA "SISTEMAS AGROFORESTALES": ESTACIÓN FITOPATOLÓXICA DO AREEIRO - MISIÓN BIOLÓGICA DE GALICIA
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Home » Publications » Papers » 2006

III Jornadas Ibéricas de Horticultura Ornamental , Almeria 2006

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Selección de descriptores agromorfológicos para la diferenciación de cultivares antiguos de Camellia japonica.


Carmen Salinero¹, Pilar Vela¹, Olga Aguín¹ & María J. Sainz²

¹Estación Fitopatolóxica do Areeiro. Servicio Agrario. Excma. Diputación Provincial de Pontevedra. Subida a la Robleda s/n.36153 Pontevedra. efa@efa-dip.org

²Departamento de Producción Vegetal, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Campus Universitario, 27002 Lugo, España.


ABSTRACT:The ornamental camellia most cultivated is Camellia japonica, comprising hundreds of cultivars. Camellias around 100 years old are growing in the gardens of Galician Pazos and Portuguese Quintas (Galician and Portuguese manor houses, respectively), in most cases belonging to unknown cultivars. Cultivar identification has been difficult, since it has been based on photographs, paintings and morphological descriptions published in catalogues and facsimiles included in old books, but this information is incomplete and sometimes confusing. It is necessary to develop specific agromorphological descriptors to characterise C. japonica material. Only well defined agromorphological descriptors have been established for Camellia sinensis, given the economic importance of the tea plant. In the present work, certain morphobotanic characteristics are proposed for identification of C. japonica cultivars. From 2002 to 2005, 45 old C. japonica specimens of unknown cultivar growing in 7 Galician gardens and 3 Portuguese gardens were selected. Samples of leaves, flowers and fruits (when produced) were taken to apply descriptors related to the shape and size of leaves, the shape, colour and size of flowers, the arrangement, shape and margin of petals, presence or absence of petaloids and stamens, and seed formation. Results showed that the descriptors most suitable for the identification of C. japonica cultivars are the shape of the blade, apex and margin of the leaf, the shape of flowers and petals, the colour, margin and arrangement of petals, and seed formation. All these characters allowed to ascribe 40 of the selected specimens to seven cultivars: Alba Plena, Arcozelo, Fimbriata, Pompone, Reina de las Flores, Rubra Simplex and Variegata. The application of descriptors indicated that the other five specimens did not correspond to any of these seven cultivars, although they were apparently similar to some of them, what would have led to an erroneous identification if using only information from catalogues and facsimiles.