Karyological and taxonomic notes onGenistaL. (Papilionoideae, Leguminosae) from the Iberian Peninsula

Karyological information about IberianGenistaspecies is limited because of their wide geographical distribution. It is a major factor in the understanding of a genus whose genetic evolution is mostly related to aneuploidy and euploidy. The chromosome numbers of the following taxa have been countedG. carpetanasubsp.carpetana(n=20),G. cinerascens(n=12),G. micrantha(n=18),G. mugronensissubsp.rigidissima(n=18),G. ramosissima(2n=48) andG. tinctoria(n=24). The previously-assumed uniformity of chromosome number (n=24) for all the subspecies ofG. cinereais supported here by data from subspp.murcicaandspeciosa. InG. florida, a new chromosome number,n=23, has been found for both subspecies (floridaandpolygaliphylla). A discussion of the discrepancies between these data and previous ones is included. A new level of ploidy has been found inG. tournefortiisubsp.tournefortii(n=32). The data stress the necessity of obtaining chromosomal information from a number of plants of a taxon before its characteristic number is clear, and indicate that more chromosomal data will help the understanding of the cytological diversity within taxa inGenista.