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A morphometric study of the Abies religiosa–hickelii–guatemalensis complex (Pinaceae) in Guatemala and Mexico

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Abstract

This morphometric study of the geographic variation in the Abies religiosa–hickelii–guatemalensis complex is based on samples from 15 Guatemalan and 12 Mexican populations, two populations of A. religiosa s.str. and A. hickelii s.str., and herbarium specimens of A. hickelii, A. vejarii and varieties of A. guatemalensis. The multivariate methods employed were principal components analysis, and UPGMA clustering. The multivariate and univariate analyses based on 231 operational taxonomic units imply that although morphological differences exist distinct morphospecies cannot be recognized within the A. religiosa–hickelii–guatemalensis complex. A Mantel’s test reports that taxonomic dissimilarities are significantly related to geographic distance. We suggest, therefore, that A. religiosa, A. hickelii and A. guatemalensis are merged so that A. hickelii is referred to as A. religiosa subsp. hickelii (Flous & Gaussen) U. Strandby, K.I. Chr. & M. Sørensen, comb. et stat. nov. and A. guatemalensis as A. religiosa subsp. mexicana (Martínez) U. Strandby, K.I. Chr. & M. Sørensen, comb. nov. According to our analyses A. vejarii cannot retain its status as a separate taxon as the material studied is nested within A. religiosa subsp. mexicana.

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Acknowledgments

This project was embarked upon 4 years ago when the project proposal was approved by the Danish Research Council for Development Research (grant No. 91160) with an additional PhD grant by the University of Copenhagen. We gratefully acknowledge the advice and assistance provided by José Pablo Prado Córdova, Juan José Castillo Mont, Gamaliel Alexander Martínez Marroquin, Martin Schiøtz, Karen Munk Rysbjerg, Anne Marie Thonning Skov, Gabriela García Besné, Tulio Lot del Angel, Erika Aguirre-Planter, Eduardo Estrada and the Guatemalan National Seed Centre (BANSEFOR). The curators of A, GH, K, MEXU, MICH, MO and NY kindly provided material for study. We are grateful to the reviewers for their comments which helped to improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agriculture and Ecology, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 21, 1958, Frederiksberg C, Denmark

    Uffe Strandby & Marten Sørensen

  2. The Botanical Garden and Museum, The Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Ø. Farimagsgade 2B, 1353, Copenhagen K, Denmark

    Knud Ib Christensen

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  1. Uffe Strandby
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Correspondence to Uffe Strandby.

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Strandby, U., Christensen, K.I. & Sørensen, M. A morphometric study of the Abies religiosa–hickelii–guatemalensis complex (Pinaceae) in Guatemala and Mexico. Plant Syst Evol 280, 59–76 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-009-0164-x

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