Abstract: Phylogenetic relationships of the different species in the genus Dendranthema (DC.) Des Moul. were estimated based on chromosome fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) with 18S–26S rDNA of Arabidopsis and genomic DNA of Dendranthema as probes. The results revealed that there was no positive correlation between the number of nuclear organization region (NOR) loci and the ploidy of Dendranthema. The exact cytogenetic information of NORs about 14 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) indicated that D. vestitum (Hemsl.) Ling et Shih was closer to the cultivars than other putative species, whereas D. zawadskii (Herb.) Tzvel. was the most distinct. The ambiguously distributed signals of genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) with genomic DNA of lower ploidy species as probes suggested that different genomes among Dendranthema were mixed. The result also indicated the limitation of GISH in studies on the phylogenetic relationships of the different species in this genus Dendranthema and on the origin of cultivated chrysanthemums. Based on these results and previous research, the origin of Chinese cultivated chrysanthemum is discussed.

Key words: cultivated chrysanthemum, Dendranthema, fluorescent in situ hybridization, origin, phylogeny.