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Late‐flowering dune populations of Dactylorhiza incarnata (Orchidaceae): variation patterns and taxonomic inferences
Author(s) -
Pedersen Henrik Ærenlund
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
nordic journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.333
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1756-1051
pISSN - 0107-055X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1756-1051.2001.tb01355.x
Subject(s) - biology , orchidaceae , taxon , danish , botany , zoology , linguistics , philosophy
Principal components analysis (PCA) was applied to summarize variation in 23 morphological characters scored from nine late‐flowering dune populations of Dactylorhiza incarnata (Orchidaceae) in Wales, The Netherlands, and Denmark. The Dutch and Danish groups of populations were vaguely separated in a PCA conducted on populations, and a very broad overlap between them was found in a PCA conducted on individual specimens. On the other hand, a clear morphological distinction between the Welsh and continental groups of populations appeared from both PCAs. The probability of each character to distinguish correctly between the main groups of populations was estimated. Three characters were found to distinguish reliably (success ≥ 90 %) between the Welsh and continental groups of populations, while no character was found to distinguish reliably between the Dutch and Danish groups of populations. It is concluded that the Welsh and Dutch/Danish populations represent two distinct taxa distributed in the British Isles and in continental Northwestern Europe, respectively. The British taxon is recognized as D. incarnata subsp. coccinea and the continental one as D. incarnata subsp. lobelii (stat. nov.). Brief taxonomic accounts are provided.