1. BIOSYSTEMATICS OF RUELLIA TUBEROSA L. (ACANTHACEAE)
- Author
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Long, Robert W.
- Abstract
Ruellia tuberosais a wide‐ranging tropical, perennial herb that has been designated the type species for the large genus Ruellia.To clarify interspecific relationships, the R. tuberosaspecies complex, including R. nudiflora, R. malacosperma, and R. lorentziana, and R. tuberosa, has been proposed as the redefined and restricted genus Ruellia.All other Ruelliaspecies would be transferred to segregate genera. Biosystematic investigations that included artificial hybridization experiments, herbarium comparisons, chromatographic analyses, and cytological studies demonstrated that R. tuberosais genetically related to a number of North American temperate taxa and to certain other tropical species. The narrow definition of Ruelliacannot be supported from the biosystematic evidence at hand. Morphological comparisons suggest that R. tuberosamay be a primitive component in a broadened generic concept.
- Published
- 1976
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