What is it about?
The objective was to analyze the variation among populations of the orchid Prosthechea karwinskii from different populations in Oaxaca, Mexico, to identify variables with taxonomic potential, through a morphometric analysis.
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Why is it important?
Through morphometric analysis, we examined the intraspecific variation in the floral morphology of P. karwinskii, identifying characters as potential taxonomic markers for the species. Traits from lateral sepal, labellum, and column are useful for this purpose and they are related to the morphological patterns of P. karwinskii. The majority of floral characters analyzed here varied significantly among populations of P. karwinskii. Specimens from Albarradas harbors the most differentiated population and they might be recognized as a variety or geographical form of the species and thus considered a priority for conservation. The Teposcolula population has value for horticultural management due to its individuals having the largest flowers in this species.
Perspectives
The results show that the floral characters have the potential to associate specimens of unknown origin with their probable geographical region. The individuals rescued in the Zaachila group with those from Etla and Yanhuitlan suggest that the origin of the former might be assigned to these two localities or others very close to them. Additional studies are recommended to compare morphological variation with genetic and geographical variation of the populations studied here. Finally, this study constitutes an initial attempt to determine the unknown geographical origin of an orchid extracted for religious use by Mexican communities.
Rodolfo Solano
Instituto Politecnico Nacional
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Variation in the Floral Morphology of Prosthechea karwinskii (Orchidaceae), a Mexican Endemic Orchid at Risk, Plants, July 2024, MDPI AG,
DOI: 10.3390/plants13141984.
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