· Construction of Forest Resources In Northeast China ·
Lingyun REN, Xinying WANG, Yuan XU, Yifan GUO, Jun LI, Anqi WANG, Qing LI, Hongzheng WANG
Acanthopanax senticosus is a valuable medicinal and edible plant, with significant potential for leaf utilization. To comprehensively investigate the phenotypic diversity of A. senticosus in Heilongjiang Province, 281 natural individuals from the 10 provenances were transplanted into a common nursery garden under uniform cultivation. Two relative phenotypic traits and nine phenotypic traits were measured and calculated, followed by variation, variance, correlation, and cluster analyses. Key findings include: (1) Significant differences (P<0.01) were observed in 11 leaf phenotypic traits both among and within populations, with inter-population variation exceeding intra-population variation. Traits such as petiole hair density (PH), prickles on petiole (PP), prickle on petiole length (PPL), leaf vein hair density (LVH), prickle vein density (PV), and prickle on leaf vein length (PVL) exhibited extremely high coefficients of variation (CV), indicating substantial variability. (2) The average diversity index of A. senticosus reached 1.615, with four phenotypic traits exceeding 1.9. Eight traits showed repeatability above 0.7, reflecting rich leaf phenotypic diversity and relatively stable genetic inheritance of A. senticosus. (3) Leaf phenotypic traits were strongly correlated, among which the prickle-related characteristics of petioles and veins were interrelated and vary together. Leaf phenotypic traits also correlated with geographic and climatic factors, with longitude identified as the primary environmental driver. (4) Cluster analysis classified the 10 provenances into three distinct groups with varying proportions, highlighting population-specific divergence. This study establishes a foundation for elucidating the genetic mechanisms of leaf traits, informs conservation strategies, germplasm collection, and breeding programs for A. senticosus, and provides a theoretical framework for developing reliable phenotypic identification methods.