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Genetic variation is not concordant with morphological variation in the fern Asplenium hookerianum sensu lato (Aspleniaceae)¹

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, P.O. Box 467, Wellington, New Zealand

ABSTRACT

Species status cannot be adequately determined when partitions are based on only a single morphological character. For instance, the sympatry of plants with broad and narrow pinnules in the fern Asplenium hookerianum sensu lato from New Zealand creates the impression that two entities are present. The narrow-pinnuled plants are sometimes segregated as a distinct species, A. colensoi. However, this variation in pinnule morphology could equally be infraspecific, and only additional data can resolve this uncertainty. Analyses using AFLP DNA-fingerprinting and DNA sequencing of the chloroplast trnL-trnF region indicate that genetic variation in A. hookerianum sensu lato is not concordant with pinnule morphology. Consequently, the recognition of A. colensoi is not supported.

Key Words: AFLP • Aspleniaceae • Asplenium colensoi • Asplenium hookerianum • New Zealand • pinnule morphology • species taxonomy • trnL-trnF