Trait-dependent resemblance of the flowering phenology and floral morphology of the allopolyploid Cardamine flexuosa to those of the parental diploids in natural habitats

Allopolyploids possess complete sets of genomes derived from different parental species and exhibit a range of variation in various traits. Reproductive traits may play a key role in the reproductive isolation between allopolyploids and their parental species, thus affecting the thriving of allopolyploids. However, empirical data, especially in natural habitats, comparing reproductive trait variation between allopolyploids and their parental species remain rare. Here, we documented the flowering phenology and floral morphology of the allopolyploid wild plantCardamine flexuosaand its diploid parentsC. amaraandC. hirsutain their native range in Switzerland. The flowering ofC. flexuosastarted at an intermediate time compared with those of the parents and the flowering period ofC. flexuosaoverlapped with those of the parents.Cardamine flexuosaresembledC. hirsutain the size of flowers and petals and the length/width ratio of petals, while it resembledC. amarain the length/width ratio of flowers. These results provide empirical evidence of the trait-dependent variation of allopolyploid phenotypes in natural habitats at the local scale. They also suggest that the variation in some reproductive traits inC. flexuosais associated with self-fertilization. Therefore, it is helpful to consider the mating system in furthering the understanding of the processes that may have shaped trait variation in polyploids in nature.