Circumscription of the South American Moonwort Botrychium (Ophioglossaceae)

• Published in: Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology
• Main Authors: Meza Torres, Esteban Ismael, Stensvold, M. C., Farrar, D. R., Ferrucci, María Silvia
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: Allozymes; Botrychium; Enzyme Electrophoresis; Fern Spores; Moonwort; Taxonomy; https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6; https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1; Argentina; Nordeste; Silvia; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11336/20655

The genus Botrychium (Ophioglossaceae) is comprised of about 30 widely distributed species. Because of their small size and few, yet variable, morphological characters, many questionable taxa have been described over the years. Since its description in 1906, B. dusenii has been treated as both a distinct species and variously divided into four taxa: B. lunaria var. dusenii, B. lunaria var. antarctica, B. ramosum var. patagonicum, and B. matricariifolium subsp. patagonica. The aim of this study is to evaluate the validity of these taxa using spore wall sculpture, spore size, allelic composition employing enzyme electrophoresis, and morphological characters. We conclude that only one species of Botrychium occurs in the study area and recognize this as B. dusenii, a species distinct from B. lunaria. Enzyme electrophoresis and spore size suggest that B. dusenii is an allotetraploid derived through hybridization between a diploid member of B. lunaria complex and a diploid member of the B. campestre complex. We provide information about habitat, distribution, and full exsiccate citations. Fil: Meza Torres, Esteban Ismael. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina Fil: Stensvold, M. C. United States Department of Agriculture; Estados Unidos Fil: Farrar, D. R. University of Iowa; Estados Unidos Fil: Ferrucci, María Silvia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina