Systematic consideration of floral microcharacters of the South American genus Chrysolaena (Vernonieae, Asteraceae).

VEGA, A. J.; VIA DO PICO, G. M.; DEMATTEIS, M.

SYSTEMATICS AND BIODIVERSITY

CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS

Lugar: Cambridge; Año: 2016 vol. 14 p. 224 - 243

1477-2000

Floral microcharacters of the genus Chrysolaena(Vernonieae, Asteraceae) were analyzed for the first time in order to evaluatethe taxonomic position of species in the group and in relation to other alliedgenera. In addition to distinctive microcharacters previously studied in somespecies of the genus, other characters such as trichome types of the corolla,style, anthers and cypselae have been analyzed for the first time. The resultsindicate that the microcharacters of Chrysolaena analyzed are quiteconsistent into the genus, but they are no more consistent than the pollenmorphology (type ?C?) and chromosome base number (x=10). Until now,these last two features would be most useful for separating Chrysolaenafrom the related genera Lessingianthus and Lepidaploa. At specieslevel, the results show that related species can be discriminated by the differentcombinations of floral microcharacters. The value of microcharacterscould be increased if they are combined with othermorphological, cytological, and palynological data.