Abstract: Lycoris radiata (L′Her. ) Herb. containing wild and cultural types, is distributed in China and Japan. The karyotype variation in three populations of the species from Anhui is studied in this paper. (1) Wuhu wild population has a karyotype 2n=21+1B= 1m+12st +8t+1B. The chromosomes range in length from 7.50 to 14.10 µm with the ratio of the longest to the shortest 1.88. The karyotype belongs to Stebbins’(1971) 3A. (2) Huangshan wild population has two cytotypes: 2n=22 and 2n=22+1B. Type Ⅰ: The karyotype formula is 2n=22=12st+10t. The chromosomes range in length from 6.85 to 9.95 µm. with the ratio of the longest to the shortest 1.45. The karyotype belongs to 4A. Type Ⅱ: The karyotype formula is 2n=22+1B=6st+14t+2T+1B (plate 1: 7，8). The chromosomes range in length from 6.50 to 11.02 µm. with the ratio of the longest to the shortest 1.70. The karyotype belongs to 4A. (3) Wuhu cultural type has a karyotype 2n=33=30st +3t. The chromosomes range in length from 7.10 to 9.35 µm with the ratio of the longest to the shortest 1.32. The karyotype belongs to 4A. This result agrees well with the previous reports. The diploid types of Lycoris radiata (L´Her.) Herb. are found in Anhui for the firsttime.

Key words: Lycoris radiata (L´, Her.) Herb., Diploid, Anhui