Abstract

Ornithogalum is a popular genus especially, as an ornamental plant. In this study, eight native Ornithogalumspecies grown in West Mediterrenean Region of Turkey were cultured on MS media supplemented with combinations of BAP (1.0, 2.0, 4.0 mg L^-1) and NAA (0.25, 0.50 mg L^-1). The results indicated that the highest rate of proliferation was induced on Murashige and Skoog (MS) to which 4 mg L^-1 BAP + 0.5 mg L^-1 NAA (4.97 bulblets/explant) while the lowest rate of bulblet proliferation was obtained in 2 mg L^-1 BAP + 0.25 mg L^-1 NAA (2.27 bulblets/explant). Ornithogalum umbellatum showed the highest bulblet regeneration within the species. The regenerated bulblets were transferred into plastic viols containing mixture of peat moss and perlite (1:1) after 5 months.

Key words: Ornithogalum spp, bulb scale explant, bulblet regeneration, in vitro propagation.