Plant Diversity ›› 2014, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (02): 133-141.DOI: 10.7677/ynzwyj201413094

• Articles •     Next Articles

Relationships within the Lonicera macrantha Complex Based on Morphological and Molecular Data

 DONG  Hong-Jin-1、2, PENG  Hua-1   

  1. 1 Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
    Kunming 650201, China; 2 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  • Received:2013-04-19 Online:2014-03-25 Published:2013-07-12

Abstract:

Being one of the most complicated groups in Lonicera (Caprifoliaceae) and distributed mainly in southern China, the Lonicera macrantha complex comprises five species, ie. Lmacrantha, Lmacranthoides, Lsimilis, Lhypoglauca and Lferruginea. The complex is also found to be the main substitute of Ljaponica for Jin Yin Hua in southern China. To clarify the relationships within the complex, investigation of morphology and habitat of each species, observation of microfeatures of leaf epidermis, and molecular phylogenetic analysis were carried out. The results show that only L. macranthoides can be easily distinguished by phylogenetic methods, and that the complex can be roughly divided into three groups based on morphological characters: Lhypoglauca is distinct in its mushroomshaped glands and long trichomes on leaf epidermis; Lferruginea is close to Lmacrantha in the thin trichomes, but they differ in length of corolla tube and stomatal structure; Lmacranthoides is morphologically similar to Lsimilis in the dense trichomes, but they can be distinguished by characters of cuticular membrane. Further studies on resolving the speciation and species dispersal  within the complex are still needed.

Key words: Lonicera, Species complex, Epidermis, Molecular phylogeny, Taxonomy

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