The genus Artemisia L

The diversity of ten populations representing Artemisia monosperma and A. judaica has been analyzed, based on assessment of morphological, karyological and molecular variations. The analysis of morphological variation and molecular polymorphism as revealed by RAPD, using the software NTSYSpc-2.01, confirmed the differentiation of A. monosperma and A. judaica as two distinct species and showed wider variations among A. judaica populations compared to the A. monosperma populations. Karyotype analysis revealed that all A. monosperma populations are tetraploid with 2n=36 and a basic number of x=9, while all samples of A. judaica are diploid with 2n=16 and x=8. One B chromosomes was detected in three populations of A. monosperma. Like most other species of Artemisia both species have symmetric karyotype but the chromosomes of A. monosperma are generally shorter than those of A. judaica. The populations of A. judaica growing in the mountains of Sinai were clearly distinguished from other populations growing at lower elevations in other parts of the Egypt based on morphological differences. However, these two populations differ considerably in chromosome length being 4.85±0.42 μm for the population growing in wadi beds and 3.81±0.28 μm for population growing on the terraces. The latter population is clearly distinguished by RAPD profilin from the other four populations supporting the recognition of some populations of A. judaica in South Sinai as a separate variety.