New Zealand Journal of Botany abstracts
Morphological and genetic variation within Metrosideros polymorpha
(Myrtaceae) on Hawai’i
Shelley A. James
Christopher F. Puttock
Pacific Center for Molecular Biodiversity
Bishop Museum
Honolulu, Hawai‘i, USA
Email: sajames@bishopmuseum.org
Susan Cordell
USDA Forest Service
Hilo, Hawai‘i, USA
Robert P. Adams
Biology Department
Baylor University
Waco, Texas, USA
Abstract The highly polymorphic taxon Metrosideros
polymorpha (‘ohi‘a) is the most abundant endemic tree in Hawai‘i, occupying
a wide but fragmented range of habitats across Federal, State, and privately
managed lands. Morphological character states of 342 herbarium specimens
from the island of Hawai’i distributed the five recognised varieties in ordinal
space, but intermediate phenotypes were prevalent. Morphological and random
amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analyses were undertaken for 10 individuals
at 3 sites on Hawai’i. Individuals at a high-elevation dry site and
mid-elevation dry site had smaller, pubescent leaves with a higher leaf mass
per area and nitrogen content than individuals at a moist mid-elevation site.
While the populations were separated in ordinal space, taxonomic varieties
overlapped. The high degree of overlap between the taxonomic varieties, based
on genetic and morphological characteristics, does not support the current
varietal subdivision of Metrosideros polymorpha on Hawai’i.
Keywords RAPDs; pubescence; phenotypic plasticity; ecophysiology;
Metrosideros polymorpha; Myrtaceae; Hawai’i
B03028; Received 5 August 2003; accepted 24 December 2003; Online publication
date 3 June 2004
New Zealand Journal of Botany, 2004, Vol. 42: 263-270
0028-825X/04/4202-0263 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2004
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