In vitro propagation of Inula verbascifolia (Willd.) Hausskn. subsp. verbascifolia

Abstract

A clonal propagation method has been developed for Inula verbascifolia (Willd.) Hausskn. subsp. verbascifolia, a species of horticultural as well as potential medicinal interest. Shoots originating from aseptically germinated seeds were used for culture initiation. The highest multiplication rate of 6.5 shoots per explant was achieved in an 8-week culture period on Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 2.2 μM 6-benzylaminopurine and 2.9 μM gibberellic acid. During the first three subcultures of the multiplication phase, two-thirds of explants spontaneously rooted on all tested media. Rooting of excised shoots on MS medium supplemented with 3 μM IAA or 3 μM IBA was 100%. Aside from the fact that all the explants were rooted on this root-inducing media, explants developed a surprisingly high mean number of shoots, 4.6 and 2.9 after 4 weeks, on medium supplemented with IAA or IBA, respectively. Rooted plantlets were transferred to potting soil and acclimatized to outdoor conditions.

Key words:

• Asteraceae
• Inula verbascifolia subsp. verbascifolia
• micropropagation

Acknowledgement

The authors wish to thank Dalibor Vladović for collecting seeds and Milenko Milović for the digital image of the plant.