Phylogenetic relationships within Fritillaria section Petilium based on AFLP fingerprints

Fritillaria sect. Petilium (Fritillaria L., Liliaceae), consists of four species: F. chitralensis, F. eduardii, F. imperialis and F. raddeana. We studied their phylogenetic relationships with AFLP’s, crossing experiments and morphological observations. The AFLP data confirm that F. eduardii is a separate species and not a variety of F. imperialis. Within F. eduardii the two earlier distinguished varieties can indeed be recognised. Our AFLP results also show that F. chitralensis, originally described as F. imperialis var. chitralensis, is different from F. imperialis and is a species in its own right. The results of the AFLP’s and the crossing experiments show that within F. imperialis two varieties can be recognised, one variety containing representatives that possesses the so called ‘foxy’ smell, and a second variety with odourless representatives. A new name for this odourless variety is proposed.