Open AccessCuticle morphology of a newly discovered conifer, Xanthocyparis vietnamensis (Cupressaceae), and a comparison with some of its nearest relatives
Author(s) -
XIANG QIAOPING,
FARJON ALJOS
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
botanical journal of the linnean society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.872
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1095-8339
pISSN - 0024-4074
DOI - 10.1046/j.1095-8339.2003.00224.x
Subject(s) - chamaecyparis , cupressaceae , biology , botany , cuticle (hair) , genus , taxon , phylogenetic tree , morphology (biology) , zoology , anatomy , pollen , biochemistry , gene
A comparative study of the micromorphology of leaf cuticles of the new genus and new species Xanthocyparis vietnamensis from northern Vietnam with its nearest relatives was made. A detailed description of cuticle characters of the internal and external surfaces of both juvenile and mature leaves is given. A new character has been found: pits occur in the external surface of the leaf cuticles in some taxa. This character has not been described earlier for conifers. A similarity analysis with closely related species was conducted using the UPGMA method. The result of this analysis unexpectedly shows that Xanthocyparis vietnamensis is most similar in its cuticles to the genus Chamaecyparis and it places X. nootkatensis intermediate between Cupressus and Chamaecyparis . This may suggest that Xanthocyparis vietnamensis is a species in the genus Chamaecyparis . This result is in conflict with a phylogenetic analysis of more comprehensive morphology data including all genera in Cupressaceae s.l. (including Taxodiaceae), which places X. vietnamensis and X. nootkatensis together in a distinct clade. © 2003 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2003, 143 , 315–322.