PATTERNS OF MUTATIONAL VARIABILITY IN THE FLORA OF MOSCOW RAILWAYS

Abstract

Flora of Moscow railways was studied. The length of railways within the old borders of the metropolis (up to 2012) is about 300 km. Mutational variability of plants was analyzed on the basis of herbarium collections [MHA, MW] and database “Plants growing on the railways of Moscow” developed by the authors. We described the following patterns of mutation: hybridization, segregation of parenteral species from hybrids, return of cultivated species to their wild type, appearance of teratogenic forms. The high representation of hybrids (5 % of the “railway’s flora”) is noted, which appears to be due to the specific ecological habitats. The check-list of hybrids comprises 59 species belonging to 20 families. The number of hybrids is decreased in the following order: Rosaceae (14) - Asteraceae (7) - Salicaceae (7) - Lamiaceae (4) - Oenotheraceae (4) - Poaceae (3). The remaining 14 families are represented by 1-2 species. Most hybrids are cultivars which get to the railway by means of anthropochory or zoochory.