XVI International Botanical Congess

To asses the power of AFLP markers in phylogenetic studies we compared AFLP marker variation with cytological, morphological, geographical and chloroplast DNA variation in two representative samples of the Sedum dasyphyllum complex. This complex comprises a polyploid series with the chromosome numbers 2n=28, 42, 56, 70, 84 and 112. Morphological variation most notably includes habit, phyllotaxis, and leaf and flower characters. Chloroplast DNA variation indicates three main haplotypes. The ancestral haplotype occurs in southern Spain and Morocco and on Corsica and Sicily, haplotype 2 in northern Africa and southern Spain, and haplotype 3 in Europe and Anatolia. AFLP markers show considerable variation.