Some taxonomic notes on the genus Pyrus L. ordering

Abstract

Aims. The information analysis and generalization on the stabilization of the nomenclature and order of the genus pear (Pyrus L.) system and its place in the taxonomic categories were determined as the aim of the review discourse. Methods. A qualitative and quantitative analysis of the study’s results conducted at various botanical, breeding, genetic, and molecular biological institutions on ex situ conservation and ways of using and enriching phytodiversity, in particular of the genus Pyrus, was carried out based on scientific literature published mainly in recent decades, comparing it with botanical science and our findings. Results. The origins of lengthy discussions on the place of the genus Pyrus in taxonomic categories, its connection with the difficulties in harmonizing classical phylogenetics with molecular-phylogenetic approaches to the classification of the family Rosaceae Juss., the studied genus, and the abundance of synonyms, unresolved names and unaccepted names, which are still found in scientific publications, have been analyzed. Orthographic variants in generic and separate species names have been revealed. The composition of the Pyrus species collection in the National dendrological park “Sofiyivka” and differences in morphology of leaves of the same species introduced into the collection from different botanical institutions have been analyzed. Conclusions. Without significant progress in plant taxonomy due to the use of molecular phylogenetic methods, the taxonomic problems of the genus Pyrus have not been resolved until now. The existing difficulties are reinforced because individual species are introduced into the collection not from natural habitats but from botanical institutions where interspecific hybridization and/or domestication are not excluded. The effects of both natural and indirect artificial domestication, which can occur on the natural population, organisms, cells (diplont and haplont), and molecular population, are determined by the extent to which the conditions of the region of introductions differ from those of the natural range of the introduced species.