Home – Home – Jornals – Contemporary Problems of Ecology 2026 number 3

The theory of geographic parthenogenesis initially described differences in the territorial distribution of sexual and parthenogenetic forms of animals, but then it was extrapolated to apomictic plants. It was argued that apomicts differ from their sexual relatives by larger ranges, preferential distribution in northern latitudes and at a high altitude. New information on the geographic distribution of sexual and apomictic species has been accumulated in recent decades. An analytical review of these data is given in this article. It is shown that the distribution of apomicts does not always agree with the above trends, and some of apomicts even demonstrate opposite trends. Belonging to the same genus does not guarantee the same patterns of distribution of apomicts and amphimicts. The most controversial position of the theory of geographic parthenogenesis is the assertion that apomictic plants are attracted to high altitudes. Possible prerequisites for the specific geographical distribution of apomicts are discussed. It is suggested that the reasons for the lack of uniform trends in the territorial distribution of apomicts and related amphimicts may be different ways of mode of apomicts origin and their evolutionary age, the diversity of apomixis types and limiting factors that plants encounter during dispersal.