Open AccessA morphometric study of three closely related taxa in the European Isoetes velata complex
Author(s) -
ROMERO M. I.,
REAL C.
Publication year - 2005
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 - 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2005.00419.x
Subject(s) - taxon , biology , range (aeronautics) , mediterranean climate , taxonomy (biology) , peninsula , botany , threatened species , ecology , habitat , materials science , composite material
Isoetes velata A. Braun is an amphibious plant with Mediterranean and Ibero‐Atlantic distribution, showing marked morphological variability. Within the same geographical area, closely related restricted‐range taxa are also present, including I. velata ssp. asturicense (restricted to mountainous areas of the north‐west Iberian Peninsula) and I. boryana (restricted to the southern French Atlantic coast). These related taxa have unclear taxonomy and are both threatened. We performed a morphometric study of specimens of the three taxa. Our results suggest that I. velata ssp. asturicense is better considered as a distinct species, I. asturicense Laínz (Laínz), distinguishable from the other two taxa by mean megaspore length ( N ≥ 30) < 360 µm. In contrast, our results do not support consideration of I. boryana as a separate species, and we here propose that this taxon be considered as a variety, I. velata A. Braun var. boryana M.I. Romero & C. Real stat. nov. © 2005 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2005, 148 , 459–464.