New Zealand Journal of Botany abstracts

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A biosystematic study of a wild population of Leptopteris hybrids in New Zealand

P. J. Brownsey

National Museum of New Zealand, Private Bag, Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract The results of a morphological and cytological investigation of a natural population of Leptopteris species and hybrids growing near Wellington are reported. Biometric analysis of 34 mature plants indicates that only representatives of L. hymenophylloides, L. superha, and their Fr hybrids are present. Regular bivalent formation at meiosis and the presence of well-formed spores in the Fi hybrids suggest some degree of fertility. Reasons for the apparent absence of F2 plants and back-cross hybrids are discussed. The occurrence of regular bivalent formation in the hybrid plants is unexpected but probably indicates that the chromosomes of L. hymenophylloides and L. superba have not diverged as rapidly as their morphological and ecological characteristics. It is suggested that the two Leptopteris species are only one of several imperfectly distinguished species pairs in the New Zealand fern flora which are still diverging after immigration into an island flora. L. hymenophylloides and L. superba are typified and their synonymies corrected. A new combination, L. x intermedia (Andre) Brownsey, is proposed for hybrids between the two species.

Keywords Leptopteris; Osmundaceae; Pteridophyta; Leptopteris intermedia comb, nov.; lectotypes; hybrids; chromosome numbers; biosystematics; New Zealand

Received 6 April 1981
New Zealand Journal of Botany, 1981. Vol. 19:343-352

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (1363K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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