Abstract

Ditirichia viscose is a wild growing medicinal plant in Jordan. It has been used for years in folk medicine in the Mediterranean area and its leaves were prescribed to treat many diseases. The plant leaves contain numerous sesquiterpene acids. As the majority of medicinal plants in Jordan have not been intensivly studied, there is a need to investigate the medicinal and economic values of some native species. Locally, no research was conducted at the DNA level to characterize genetic diversity of D. viscose. This study covered 23 populations collected from six governorates (Irbid, Ajloun, Jarash, Zarqa, Al-Balqaa and Amman) in northern and central part of Jordan. Genetic diversity among wild populations was studied using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). Results showed that the mean genetic similarity percentage of D. viscose among populations was 73%. Clustering patterns distinguished the populations into four clusters. Clusters 1 and 2 separated populations collected from the northern part of Jordan from the populations collected from the central part of Jordan. However, there is still a need to conduct intrapopulation analysis to determine the superior plant(s) from the best locations to be the bases for establishing local breeding programme.