Picea omorika /Panč./Purkynĕ - Balkan Endemic and Tertiary Relict

The aim of the Monograph is to present the results which upgrade the study on Picea omorika /Pan./ Purkyn with so far insufficiently studied material. She unifies the results of long-term research of the Serbian spruce reproductive potential through analysis of flowering and fructification. The analyses included flowering abundance and periodicity, microstrobile variability, variability of fresh pollen and pollen stored for ten years (dimensions, viability, optimal germination medium, viability conservation in different temperature treatments, variability during storage period), cone and seed variability, quality seeds during the collection year and after ten years of storage. Taking into account first of all the species relictness and endemicity, and also the biology and nature of flowering (periodicity, different times of male and female flower maturation), the results are significant for both the science and the practice. The confirmed individual variability and the long-lasting conservation of pollen and seed quality in the determined conditions are preconditions for Serbian spruce improvement and biodiversity conservation - the Balkan Peninsula Tertiary relict and endemic.