Abstract Detail

Systematics Section/ASPT

Pace, Matthew [1].

Using Fine-scale Morphological Features in Species Delimitation of Spiranthes (Orchidaceae).

Spiranthes is the second largest orchid genus in North America with 31 currently recognized species, varieties, and putative hybrids. An additional 7 species are found in Latin America and Eurasia and Australia. Despite its relatively small size, Spiranthes is a systematically complex genus, with over 400 published names. This complexity is due in large part to the past inclusion of several now-segregated genera within Spiranthes, and the intra-specific morphological and reproductive variation, and inter-specific morphological similarities of many Spiranthes s.s.; cryptic speciation is also a common issue in the genus. Some species are distributed over a wide geographic area, compounding these issues and leading to the naming of aberrant or clinal populations. Phylogenetic analyses reveal that the species status of some taxa need to re-evaluated. In an effort to support the results of the phylogeny and find physical characters useful for field-identification, fine-scale morphological traits are being evaluated to determine their applicability to species delimitation. Because the flowers of Spiranthes are small (avg. 6mm), many traits have been improperly assessed, overlooked, or under-utilized for species recognition. Here I present data supporting the use of various fine-scale morphological features for distinguishing species of Spiranthes.

Broader Impacts:

1 - University of Wisconsin - Madison, 430 Lincoln Drive, Birge Hall, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

Keywords:
Orchidaceae
morphology
Spiranthes
species delimitation
Systematics.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Grand Salon A - D/Riverside Hilton
Date: Monday, July 29th, 2013
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PSY063
Abstract ID:767
Candidate for Awards:None