Selection in Artemisia umbelliformis Lam. Piedmont ecotypes to improve cultivation in alpine environment

Artemisia umbelliformis Lam. (syn. A. mutellina Vill., A. laxa (L.) Fritsch) is an herbaceous alpine plant belonging to the Asteraceae family, and most commonly growing in the wild at altitudes between 2,000 and 3,700 m a.s.l. Its flowers are used for the production of an alcohol-based infusion called genepì in Italian and génépi in French. Uncontrolled picking of natural populations has endangered the species’ survival, despite bans in Switzerland and Italy and strict regulation in France. Limited quantities are produced under cultivation, but these are insufficient to meet market needs, so the selection of productive genotypes is a present priority. We report here an AFLP-based assessment of the genetic diversity represented in five ecotypes (Valle Gesso, Marmora, Gran Paradiso, Val Chisone and Elva), one selection (RAC12) and a wild population. The four ecotypes Valle Gesso, Gran Paradiso, Val Chisone and Elva together captured a broad coverage of the genetic variability present. A sample of ten plants was selected from each of these ecotypes for a more detailed analysis of genetic, phenological and morphological variation. The assays confirmed the distinctness of the four ecotypes, and were used to identify set of mother plants of clonal populations suitable for cultivation.