Morphometric analysis of the genus <i>Monochoria</i> (Pontederiaceae) in Sri Lanka
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v24i1.33001Abstract
The genus Monochoria is represented in Sri Lanka by only two species, M. hastata and M. vaginalis. Of the two species M. vaginalis exhibits a high morphological diversity. A morphometric analysis was performed on the Sri Lankan members of the genus Monochoria to evaluate the morphological diversity exhibited by comparing 34 vegetative, anatomical and reproductive characters. Both cluster and principal coordinate analyses resulted in four clusters of which one corresponded to M. hastata, while M. vaginalis was divided into three phenetic groups indicating that the Sri Lankan M. vaginalis is a species complex involving more than one taxon. The length ratio of the lower spathe petiole to inflorescence stalk was identified as an informative character in delimiting the phenetic groups, a character that has not been considered before. Further, the occurrence of sub-palisade cavities that are filled with a red colored liquid in the leaves of two phenetic groups was a novel character for the genus as well as the family Pontederiaceae.
Keywords: Monochoria vaginalis; Morphological data; Sub-palisade cavities; Principal coordinate anaysis.
Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 24(1): 1322, 2017 (June)
Downloads
23
34
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright on any research article is transferred in full to Bangladesh Association of Plant Taxonomists upon publication in Bangladesh Journal of Plant Taxonomy. The copyright transfer includes the right to reproduce and distribute the article in any form of reproduction (printing, electronic media or any other form).
Articles in the Bangladesh Journal of Plant Taxonomy are Open Access articles published under the Creative Commons CC BY License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This license permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. It is author's responsibility to obtain the permission from appropriate authority if figures are reused from a previously published document.
