Evidence against the existence of varieties in Arctagrostis latifolia ssp. arundinacea (Poaceae)

The morphological diversity of North American specimens of Arctagrostis latifolia ssp. arundinacea (Trin.) Tzvelev was evaluated for possible varieties within the subspecies by considering (i) descriptions of three previously recognized taxa included in the subspecies, (ii) measurements of spikelet...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Journal of Botany
Main Authors: Aiken, S. G., Lefkovitch, L. P., Gardiner, Susan E., Mitchell, W. W.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1994
Subjects:
Plant Science
Arctagrostis latifolia
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/b94-130
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/b94-130
Description
Summary:The morphological diversity of North American specimens of Arctagrostis latifolia ssp. arundinacea (Trin.) Tzvelev was evaluated for possible varieties within the subspecies by considering (i) descriptions of three previously recognized taxa included in the subspecies, (ii) measurements of spikelet characters of the types of five taxa, (iii) Macoun's illustrations of spikelet diversity, (iv) a morphological study of 130 herbarium specimens, and (v) a transplant garden study. Characters thought to be uninfluenced by environment were examined. These included (i) the seed protein banding patterns revealed by SDS–PAGE, (ii) the guard cell sizes from plants of known chromosome number, and (iii) a study of anther lengths and pollen diameters. The data do not support the recognition of varieties. Key words: SDS–PAGE, transplant garden, pollen, chromosome number, guard cells, Arctagrostis, Poaceae, taxonomy.

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