Genetic Diversity and Evolutionary History of Salvia officinalis L. and Salvia lavandulifolia Vahl

Dalmatian sage (Salvia officinalis L.) and Spanish sage (S. lavandulifolia Vahl) are closely related, perennial species from the family Lamiaceae. Dalmatian sage is native to coastal regions of the western Balkans as well as to the southern Apennine Peninsula while the natural distribution area of Spanish sage is the Iberian Peninsula. Thus, the populations of Dalmatian and Spanish sage most probably survived in different refugia during the glacial periods according to the traditional interpretation of southern European peninsulas (Balkans, Apennines and Iberia) as being single refugia that served as a source for a postglacial recolonization. However, 'refugia within refugia' model implies the existence of multiple glacial refugia within each larger refugial area that may confound the interpretation of phylogeographic patterns. Microsatellite markers and chloroplast DNA sequences were used to examine and compare genetic diversity and population structure of Dalmatian and Spanish sage with the aim to assess the fine-scale geographical distribution of putative 'refugia within refugia'.