Dwarf subshrub morphological structure variety in species of the genus Scutellaria (Lamiaceae) under different growing conditions

Dwarf subshrub morphological structure variety in species of the genus Scutellaria (Lamiaceae) under different growing conditions

Biomorphological features of the steppe dwarf subshrub Scutellaria przewalskii were revealed. In most of the range, in petrophytic variants of temperate steppes, this species develops as a monocentric dwarf subshrub with anisotropic generative shoots. The morphogenesis of S. przewalskii individuals under the conditions of temperate steppes (Aridity index (I) = 17) is described in detail. A comparative analysis was performed on morphological functions of five steppe dwarf subshrubs from the genus Scutellaria (S. przewalskii, S. supina, S. grandiflora, S. tuvensis, S. sieversii) was carried out by 14 qualitative and quantitative indicators. As a result of a comparative analysis of individuals growing in different types of steppe communities: meadow steppes (I = 55), temperate steppes (I = 15–17), desert steppes (I = 9), common features of the development of individuals of dwarf subshrub were revealed: the basisympodial growth of the shoot system; the lignification of the shoots’basal parts; the renewal buds location above the substrate surface; short monopodial growth of the primary shoot, the presence of the main root during the entire ontogenesis. Differences between dwarf subshrub are associated with the structural features of shoots and the skeletal axes, their age, the pregenerative period duration decrease.