Sources of Sorbus aria agg. variation

Genus Sorbus is a very complex group of vascular plants. Various genetic lineages which can be fixed by apomixis are driven by interspecific hybridisation and polyploidy. Species from S. aria agg. have the highest variation probably due to an extra mechanism - introgressive hybridisation. There are several concepts of the aggregate which are usually based on three main species: S. aria, S. umbellatta and S. graeca. Therefore, new microspecies are derived by genome doubling and hybridisation between the main species. Units of the aggregate are assessed differently as the distinction of taxa is very complicated due to the overlap of the morphological variability. The aggregate itself can be sometimes considered as a category for species of uncertain origin or identification. Four species from S. aria agg. occur in the Czech Republic. In addition, the conclusion offers questions that will be addressed in the master's thesis