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Subspecies are widely included as conservation units because of their potential to become new species. However, their practical recognition includes variable criteria, such as morphological, genetic, geographic and other differences.  Centaurea aspera  ssp.  scorpiurifolia  is a threatened taxon endemic to Andalusia (Spain), which coexists in most of its distribution area with similar taxa. Because of the difficulty to identify it using morphology alone, we aimed to sample all the populations cited as ssp.  scorpiurifolia  as exhaustively as possible, morphologically characterise them, and analyse their genetic structuring using microsatellites, to better understand difficulties when conserving subspecies. Three different  Centaurea  species were found which were easily identified. Within  C. aspera , two genetic populations and some admixed individuals were observed, one including ssp.  scorpiurifolia  individuals and the other including individuals identified as subspecies  aspera ,  stenophylla , and  scorpiurifolia . A morphological continuum between these two genetic populations and a wide overlapping of their biogeographic distribution were also found. This continuum can affect the conservation of ssp.  scorpiurifolia  because of potential misidentifications and harmful effects of subspecific hybridization. Misidentifications could be partly overcome by using as many different traits as possible, and conservation priority should be given to populations representative of the ends of this continuum.

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Morphologic, genetic, and biogeographic continua among subspecies hinder the conservation of threatened taxa: the case of Centaurea aspera ssp. scorpiurifolia (Asteraceae)