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A SYSTEMATIC CIRCUMSCRIPTION OF CAREX MITCHELLIANA (CYPERACEAE) WITH REFERENCE TO TAXONOMIC STATUS
Author(s) -
Bruederle Leo P.,
Fairbrothers David E.,
Hanks Sharon L.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1989.tb11292.x
Subject(s) - circumscription , cyperaceae , biology , carex , botany , taxonomy (biology) , ecology , zoology , evolutionary biology , poaceae , artificial intelligence , computer science
Carex mitchelliana M. A. Curtis, first described in 1843, is a cryptic member of the C. crinita Lam. species complex. Although recently attributed varietal status, historically it has been treated as both a species and a variety. In order to determine the taxonomic distinctness of this taxon, data were collected from a variety of sources including: morphology, scanning electron microscopy, chromosome counts, and biogeography. Results from scanning electron microscopy and statistical analyses of morphological data provide the strongest support for recognition of C. mitchelliana. Perigynia of C. mitchelliana are uniformly papillate; the length of the elongate papilla differs significantly among taxa ( P < 0.001). Additionally, a variety of qualitative and quantitative morphological characters distinguish this taxon from the others in the complex; these include attributes of the pistillate scale, achene, perigynium, sheathing leaves, and habit. These data support and enhance those results previously reported from allozyme analyses of electrophoretic data. Although the geographical range of extant C. mitchelliana has been reduced, the historic range extends from Massachusetts to northern Florida and eastern Alabama. Chromosome counts, though not divergent from the other taxa in the complex, are presented for the first time for this species ( n = 33).