Studies on copper and cobalt tolerance in three closely related taxa within the genusSilene L. (Caryophyllaceae) from Zaïre

Experiments were carried out on the tolerance to and uptake of copper and cobalt by three members of a phylogenetic series of taxa within the genusSilene from Zaire which were reputed to represent a progression of increasing adaptation to metalliferous soils. Plants studied were the widespread and presumably non-tolerantSilene burchelli var.angustifolia (B), a more tolerant variant of this taxon (E) designated an ecotype, and the metallophyteS. cobalticola (C). Studies on the effects of both metals, singly and in combination, on seed germination, seedling and plant performance and yield, and metal uptake from soil cultures, confirmed in general the sequence B