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The volatile constituents of the essential oils of 23 taxa belonging to the Apioideae subfamily were studied in detail. The investigated taxa were Pimpinella serbica (Vis.) Bentham & Hooker, Libanotis montana Cr., Cnidium silaifolium (Jacq.) Simk. ssp. orientale (Boiss.) Tutin, Bupleurum praealtum L., B. sibthorpianum S. S. var. diversifolium (Roch.) Hay, Aegopodium podagraria L., Torilis anthriscus (L.) Gmel., Orlaya grandiflora (L.) Hoffm., Laserpitium siler L., Laser trilobum (L.) Brokh., Chaerophyllum aureum L., C. hirsutum L., C. temulum L., Pastinaca sativa L., P. hirsuta Pancic., Tordylium maximum L., Physospermum cornubiense (L.) DC., Peucedanum alsaticum L., P. oreoselinum (L.) Moench, P. cervaria (L.) Cuss., P. austriacum (Jacq.) Koch, P. longifolium W. et K., and P. officinale L. All of these species grow wild in the central part of the Balkan Peninsula. The essential oils were found to be complex mixtures of various compounds, more than 100 constituents being in each taxon, with contributions of main products never exceeding 25% of the total content. Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were found to be the main group of constituents of all taxa, except for Peucedanum species, where monoterpene hydrocarbons were identified as the main components. The chemotaxonomic value of the essential-oil composition is discussed according to results of principal-component analysis (PCA). The essential-oil composition mainly reflects current taxonomic relationships between the investigated taxa.

The essential-oil compositions of Pinus heldreichii Christ. from Montenegro and Serbia are reported at the population level. Whitebark pine is a sub-endemic high-mountain Balkan pine relict of an anthropogenically reduced area, with large morphological diversity and insufficiently clear taxonomic position. In the pine-needle terpene profile from three populations from Montenegro, and one from Serbia, 101 compounds were detected, 72 of which could be identified (Table 3). The dominant constituents are limonene (26.3%), alpha-pinene (17.5%), germacrene D (13.5%), and beta-caryophyllene (10.4%), comprising ca. 67.7% of the essential oil. Medium-to-high contents (0.5-10%) of the following 16 additional components were found: beta-pinene, beta-myrcene, alpha-humulene, delta-cadinene, alpha-muurolene, (E)-hex-2-enal, beta-gurjunene, gamma-muurolene, isopimarol, camphene, gamma-cadinene, aromadendrene, beta-bisabolene, trans-beta-farnesene, alpha-cadinene, and (Z)-hex-3-en-1-ol. The similarity of the populations and the within-population variability was visualized by principle-component analysis (PCA) of eleven selected terpenes in 97 tree samples. Cluster and genetic analyses suggest closest connection between the two spatially most-distant populations I (Montenegro) and IV (Serbia). Based on the profile of the main sesquiterpene components, the studied populations from Montenegro and Serbia are more similar to the populations from Greece and the Central Balkan peninsula (Bosnia and Serbia-Kosovo) than to those on the furthest eastern margin of their natural range (Bulgaria).

Armillaria causes problems of root rot, kill trees and decay wood in the forests of Serbia and Montenegro, but the species involved have not hitherto been identified. The aim of this study was to identify field isolates collected on 25 localities. Identification was based on restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of intergenic spacer 1 (IGS1) region and comparisons of IGS1 sequence with those available on NCBI database. Phylogenetic analysis was performed on sequence information from selected isolates to determine possible interrelationships between isolates with different banding patterns and previously identified tester isolates of five European Armillaria species. Five Armillaria species were identified in 90 isolates obtained from forests in Serbia and Montenegro. Armillaria gallica was most frequently isolated, followed by A. cepistipes, A. mellea, A. ostoyae and A. tabescens; two isolates remained unidentified. Restriction digestion of IGS1 amplification products with AluI produced 10 RFLP patterns. Patterns G4 (400, 250, 180) for A. gallica and pattern X (400, 180, 140) for isolates 74 and 79 are reported for the first time in European isolates. Eight RFLP patterns were observed after restriction with TaqI. Two patterns each were observed for A. ostoyae and A. gallica, and one each for A. cepistipes, A. mellea, A. tabescens and isolates 74 and 79. Parsimony analyses based on the IGS1 region placed the isolates into four clades: one including A. mellea, the second containing A. gallica-A. cepistipes isolates, while isolates of A. ostoyae and A. borealis were in the third clade. Armillaria tabescens differed from all annulate species. Phylogenetic analysis supported the conclusion that European Armillaria species are closely related and separated from a common ancestor in the near past. According to this survey five European Armillaria species are present in the forests of Serbia and Montenegro, while A. borealis is not present in the studied ecosystems.

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