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<p><i>Artemisia vulgaris</i> L. (Mugwort) is a perennial medicinal shrub with wide ecological amplitude, yet little is known about its reproductive adaptations in the Himalayas. We investigated three natural populations spanning an altitudinal gradient (560–1064&#xa0;m asl) in the western Himalayas (Union Territory of&#xa0;Jammu and Kashmir) to examine floral biology, phenology, pollination, seed output, reproductive effort, and cytology. The species exhibited gynomonoecy with protandrous disc florets and anemophilous pollination confirmed by pollen capture experiments. Despite high pollen viability, as determined by&#xa0; 2,3,5-triphenyl tetrazolium trichloriden(TTC) and fluorescein diacetate (FDA) assays, bagging experiments revealed extremely low fruit set and non-viable seeds, thereby&#xa0;indicating self-incompatibility. Open-pollinated seed set was moderate but variable across altitudes, with resource allocation skewed toward vegetative biomass. Cytological analyses consistently revealed a stable hexaploid chromosome count (2n = 6x = 54). These findings highlight the role of polyploid stability, wind pollination, and reproductive trade-offs in enabling <i>A. vulgaris</i> to adapt and persist across contrasting habitats in the Himalayas. This is the first integrative account of reproductive ecology and cytogenetics of <i>A. vulgaris</i> in India, with implications for its ecological success and invasive potential.</p>

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Reproductive biology and cytological insights of Artemisia vulgaris: implications for growth and adaptation of the species

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月27日

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  • Neha Devi,
  • Arjun Khajuria,
  • Jayoti Devi,
  • Namrata Sharma

摘要

Artemisia vulgaris L. (Mugwort) is a perennial medicinal shrub with wide ecological amplitude, yet little is known about its reproductive adaptations in the Himalayas. We investigated three natural populations spanning an altitudinal gradient (560–1064 m asl) in the western Himalayas (Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir) to examine floral biology, phenology, pollination, seed output, reproductive effort, and cytology. The species exhibited gynomonoecy with protandrous disc florets and anemophilous pollination confirmed by pollen capture experiments. Despite high pollen viability, as determined by  2,3,5-triphenyl tetrazolium trichloriden(TTC) and fluorescein diacetate (FDA) assays, bagging experiments revealed extremely low fruit set and non-viable seeds, thereby indicating self-incompatibility. Open-pollinated seed set was moderate but variable across altitudes, with resource allocation skewed toward vegetative biomass. Cytological analyses consistently revealed a stable hexaploid chromosome count (2n = 6x = 54). These findings highlight the role of polyploid stability, wind pollination, and reproductive trade-offs in enabling A. vulgaris to adapt and persist across contrasting habitats in the Himalayas. This is the first integrative account of reproductive ecology and cytogenetics of A. vulgaris in India, with implications for its ecological success and invasive potential.