Similarity analysis between species of the genus Quercus L. (Fagaceae) in southern Italy based on the fractal dimension

Abstract

The fractal dimension (FD) is calculated for seven species of the genus Quercus L. in Calabria region (southern Italy), five of which have a marcescent-deciduous and two a sclerophyllous character. The fractal analysis applied to the leaves reveals different FD values for the two groups. The difference between the means and medians is very small in the case of the marcescent-deciduous group and very large when these differences are established between both groups: all this highlights the distance between the two groups in terms of similarity. Specifically, Q. crenata, which is hybridogenic in origin and whose parental species are Q. cerris and Q. suber, is more closely related to Q. cerris than to Q. suber, as also expressed in the molecular analysis. We consider that, in combination with other morphological, physiological and genetic parameters, the fractal dimension is a useful tool for studying similarities amongst species.