New Zealand Journal of Botany abstracts
Relationships in the alpine Ranunculus haastii
(Ranunculaceae) complex and recognition of R. piliferus and R.
acraeus from southern New Zealand
P. B. Heenan
Allan Herbarium
Landcare Research
PO Box 40
Lincoln 7640, New Zealand
P. J. Lockhart
N. Kirkham
K. McBreen
Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution
Institute of Molecular BioSciences
Massey University
Private Bag 11222
Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand
D. Havell
Universal College of Learning
Private Bag 11022
Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand
Abstract Growth habit, vegetative, floral
characters, and molecular data support the recognition of Ranunculus
haastii and R. piliferus at species rank, rather than as
intraspecific taxa at the rank of subspecies. Therefore, R. piliferus
is a new combination at species rank for plants previously known as R.
haastii subsp. piliferus. R. acraeus is a new
species distinguished from R. piliferus by its finely crenate
leaf and bract margins, glabrous peduncle, and in having 6–7 sepals
that are hairy on the abaxial surface and glabrous on the adaxial
surface. R. piliferus occurs in northern Southland and South
Otago and R. acraeus occurs in North Otago and South
Canterbury. R. piliferus and R. acraeus grow in
relatively stable alpine rock-fields that comprise rock fractured into
large, coarse, and angular blocks of differing sizes and shapes. R.
haastii occurs in Canterbury and Marlborough where it grows on
mobile fine-grained scree in the alpine zone.
Phylogenetic analyses of nrDNA ITS and
cpDNA JSA sequence data provide support for the segregation
of R. piliferus from R. haastii, and for the
recognition of R. acraeus. R. piliferus forms a
distinct genotype in both the ITS and JSA analyses. R.
acraeus and one sample of R. haastii have a distinct JSA
genotype, and R. acraeus and R. buchananii share
a nine-base-pair indel. In the ITS analysis R. acraeus and most
samples of R. grahamii share the same genotype, and along with R.
haastii form a northern, alpine group of diverse genotypes.
Keywords Ranunculaceae; Ranunculus; Ranunculus
acraeus; Ranunculus haastii subsp. piliferus;
Ranunculus haastii; Ranunculus piliferus;
new combination; new species; taxonomy; DNA; ITS; JSA;
phylogenetic analysis; New Zealand flora
B06023; Online publication date 14 December 2006; Received 29 June
2006; accepted 2 November 2006
New Zealand Journal of Botany, 2006, Vol. 44: 425–441
0028–825X/06/4404–0425 © The Royal Society of New Zealand
2006
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