A phenetic analysis of the Bakeridesia integerrima complex (Malvaceae)

• Published in: Brittonia 2015-09, Vol.67 (3), p.250-271
• Main Authors: Donnell, Aliya A., Cantino, Philip D., Ballard, Harvey E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Life Sciences; Plant Anatomy/Development; Plant Ecology; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; Plant Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography; Taxonomy
• ISSN: 0007-196X; 1938-436X
• DOI: 10.1007/s12228-015-9362-8

The Bakeridesia integerrima complex is a geographically and morphologically variable group consisting of populations that have been variously assigned to B. integerrima, B. molinae, B. bakeriana, and B. subcordata. Phenetic analyses of morphological data were undertaken to clarify species boundaries within this complex. Ninety-five specimens were placed into one of ten Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) and measured for 16 morphological characters and 29 ratios of these characters. Univariate analyses were conducted to examine variation within individual variables, and Canonical Variates Analyses (CVA), and Principal Components Analysis (PCA) were used to examine relationships among the variables. The results presented here show that the B. integerrima complex consists of nine morphologically and geographically distinct species, compared to the four previously published species names. One new combination, B. chittendenii, is made, B. subcordata is synonymized with B. bakeriana, and diagnoses are given for five new species: B. huastecana, B. jaliscana, B. zapoteca, B. parvifolia, and B. guerrerensis.