Cytological Studies on Seven Species of Korean Carex (Cyperaceae)

Chromosome numbers of seven Carex taxa collected from the Korean peninsula are reported. This study is the first observations of meiotic chromosomes for Carex species from Korean populations. A univalent is observed in C. ischnostachya Steud. var. fastigiata T. Koyama (n=26II+I), and two different chromosome numbers are observed in an individual of C. leucochlora Bunge (n=27II, 29II). For the first time, the chromosome number for C. polyschoena H. Lev. & Vaniot (n=26II) is reported here. The results of diverse chromosome numbers suggest that polyploidy and aneuploidy including agmatoploidy and symploidy (increases and decreases in chromosome number due to fission or fusion, respectively) have played an important role for Carex species diversity in Korea.