ISHS Acta Horticulturae 570: VIII International Symposium on Flowerbulbs
THE SUBGENERIC DELIMITATION OF LACHENALIA (HYACINTHACEAE) |
| Authors: | J.J. Spies, P. van Rooyen, R. Kleynhans |
| Keywords: | Chromosomes, Lachenalia, molecular systematics, phylogeny, taxonomy |
| Abstract:
The genus Lachenalia consists of approximately 116 species. Many of these species are used in a breeding programme for pot plants at ARC-Roodeplaat, South Africa. Various basic chromosome numbers are present in the genus Lachenalia, i.e. x=5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 13. Ploidy levels range from diploid to octoploid and polyploidy is present in many species. For breeding purposes it is necessary to know the chromosome number and the genetic diversity within and between species. Species delimitations in the genus are often poor and many specimens are misidentified. Three different subgeneric classification systems have been proposed for the genus. This study evaluates whether the three classification systems are natural. This is done by comparing the system to the basic chromosome number per group and by using sequence data to determine the relationships among the different species. This evaluation clearly indicates that the system proposed by Crosby (1986) is the most natural one and should be expanded to include all species in the genus. | |
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