Abstract Detail

Floristics & Taxonomy

Murphy, Thomas H. [1], Estes, L. Dwayne [1].

Taxonomy of the Clematis reticulata species complex: Enhancing species delimitation with herbarium and common garden datasets.

Clematis subgenus Viorna of North America currently consists of 21 species, most of which are distributed in the southeastern United States. Past taxonomic treatments of subg. Viorna have varied, which has led to unclear species limits. Often recognized as a single, polymorphic species with a high degree of ecological amplitude, variation in the Clematis reticulata species complex is typically attributed to phenotypic plasticity. A combination of herbarium specimen examination and extensive fieldwork led to formation of seven a priori morphological groups, or hypothesized taxa, in the C. reticulata species complex based on previously used and novel morphological characters. A total of 16 morphological characters, quantitative and qualitative, were measured to generate two datasets from herbarium specimens and a common garden experiment, respectively, which were subjected to the same statistical analyses. To visualize morphological separation in multivariate space, data were subjected to factor analysis of mixed data. To infer if hypothesized taxa were diagnosable, partial least squares discriminant analysis was used to assess classification accuracy based on a priori groups. While several characters were found to be phenotypically plastic, the same characters characters that discrimated hypothesized taxa in herbarium specimens also did so in common garden individuals. Morphological characters were subjected to non-parametric univariate analyses. Of the seven hypothesized taxa, six were supported by evidence from morphology, biogeography, and ecology and are recognized as distinct species. This study highlights the importance of integrating common garden experiments in taxonomic research.

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1 - Austin Peay State University, Biology, Clarksville, TN, 37044, United States

Keywords:
Taxonomy
new species
Clematis
common garden
Morphometrics.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: FT2, Floristics & Taxonomy II
Location: Virtual/Virtual
Date: Wednesday, July 29th, 2020
Time: 2:15 PM
Number: FT2003
Abstract ID:817
Candidate for Awards:None