TITLE:
Wild potato species (Solanum section Petota Solanaceae) in the Tunari National Park, Andean Region of Cochabamba, Bolivia
AUTHORS:
Mario Coca Morante, Alejandro Coca-Salazar
KEYWORDS:
Genetic Erosion; Anthropic Activity; Biological Diversity
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ecology,
Vol.4 No.2,
February
8,
2014
ABSTRACT:
The Tunari National Park is located in the Tunari Mountain Range, part
of the Cochabamba Range in the Bolivian Andes. The Park is home to species of
wild potato (Solanum section Petota Solanaceae), but these are
now threatened by human activity. The aims of the present study were: 1) to determine the
distribution of wild potato species in the Park, and, 2) to determine the size of their populations. Collection
routes were established within the Park, and the species present along them
recorded in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Their population sizes were determined in
2008. Four wild potato species were identified: S. capsicibaccatum, S.
berthaultii, S. brevicaule and S. toralapanum. S.
capsicibaccatum was the most abundant and had the most extensive
distribution, followed by S. berthaultii; these last two species are
likely endemic. The other species, although probably also endemic, were
much less widely distributed; some limiting factor(s) would therefore appear to
be acting upon them. S. berthaultii showed variations in corolla shape
(rotate, pentagonal and semi-stellate) and flower colour (whitish-lilac to
blue-lilac). The remaining species showed no apparent intraspecific variation
in their morphological characteristics.