Comparative analysis of variability of morphological characteristics of European and Japanese larches with their hybrids

Abstract Hybridizing European larch with Japanese larch A S Yablokov and M I Dokuchaeva pointed to their better silvicultural and decorative characteristics compared to their parent species. Moreover, E G Bobrov described Larix marschlinsii hybrid as a faster-growing species, he also recommended this hybrid larch for afforestation in many countries. In this study, the vegetative and generative organs of European and Japanese larch hybrids are compared with their parent species. Such characteristics as the cones length, the cones width, the number of scales in the cones and the needles length were considered. A comparative analysis of larch trees DNA was also carried out. As a result of the study, we found that by morphological characteristics, the hybrids occupied an intermediate position between the parent species, except for the length of the needles. The spectra samples electrophoregram of larch total DNA indicated some similarity between hybrids and parent species, meanwhile, hybrids have their own distinctive features.