VARIABILITY OF CHRISTMAS ROSE (HELLEBORUS NIGER L.) POPULATIONS AND ITS POTENTIAL USE IN GENETIC BREEDING

The Christmas rose (Helleborus niger L.) is widely distributed in Southern and Central Europe, and Slovenia is probably one of the centers of its diversity. The investigation was aimed at evaluating phenotypic diversity among selected wild populations in Slovenia and neighboring Croatia. Some of the analyzed traits expressed relatively very high variation (e.g., number of leaves per plant, number of inflorescences per plant). The variation ranges of some of the analyzed traits were found to be wider than those mentioned in the literature. Statistical analysis indicated that variability was more expressed within than between populations. In terms of present market requirements, the most valuable populations are Žumberak (Croatia), containing plant material with the longest peduncles and largest flowers, and Peca, containing genotypes with the highest number of inflorescences per plant.