Chromosome numbers are reported for 35 individuals of one of three species of Solidago L. sect. Multiradiatae (Semple) Semple & J. B. Beck from Canada and the United States: S. multiradiata Aiton. Identifications of nearly all vouchers for 101 previously published counts for S. leiocarpa DC., S. multiradiata, and S. spithamaea M. A. Curtis ex A. Gray were confirmed or revised following the delimitation of the section by Semple and Beck (2021). Diploids 2n = 18 occur over much of the range of S. multiradiata with tetraploids occurring in some areas of the range but unknown from others. The two narrowly distributed high Appalachian Mountains species are both polyploid: S. leiocarpa is tetraploid 2n = 36 in New Hampshire, and S. spithamaea is hexaploid 2n = 54 in North Carolina.
Canonical discriminant analysis was used to assess the taxonomic status of Antennaria neodioica Greene var. gaspensis Fernald. Results based on these analyses indicate that Antennaria howellii Greene, Antennaria microphylla Rydberg, A. neodioica var. gaspensis, Antennaria pulvinata Greene, and Antennaria rosea Greene are morphologically distinct. High cross-validation assignment rates as well as high Geisser assignment probabilities for each of the taxa support this statement. Elevating var. gaspensis to the rank of species is in part supported by the data analysis, but doing so would be contrary to the species standard method and inconsistent with recent practice in revisions of the genus. The presence of scarious appendages at the tips of the upper cauline leaves, the open pedicellate inflorescence, the whitish-green capitula, general growth form, agamospermous reproduction, chromosome number, provenance, and quantitative morphology, in addition to the results of the canonical discriminant analysis, support recognition of var. gaspensis at an infraspecific rank. In keeping with the criteria utilized in recent revisions of the genus, var. gaspensis should more appropriately be treated as a subspecies. Recent nomenclatural rearrangements in A. neodioica and A. howellii founded on the priority of the latter lead to the following new combination: Antennaria howellii subsp. gaspensis (Fernald) Chmielewski. Key words: Antennaria howellii var. gaspensis, Asteraceae, Newfoundland flora, Gaspé Bay Peninsula flora.
A multivariate morphometric study of Aster subg. Doellingeria sect. Triplopappus (Compositae: Astereae) was undertaken to assess the numbers and ranks of taxa that usefully could be recognized. The results of cluster, discriminant, and principal components analyses on a matrix of 362 plants by 11 characters indicated that four species level groups can be recognized: Aster inflrmus, A. reticulatus, A. sericocarpoides, and A. umbellatus. Within A. umbellatus, analyses of a 12-character data matrix on an additional 140 plants and analysis of a second matrix consisting of the data on the 198 plants of the species included in the species-level study supported recognition of two varieties: pubens and umbellatus. The qualitative and quantitative differences between the two varieties were smaller than those among the four species. Using a key to the taxa produced from all results, the distributions of the four species and two varieties were determined from a large sample of herbarium specimens and a nomenclatural synonymy was developed. Some lectotypes and a neotype are designated. All taxa in the section are diploid 2n = 18; chromosome numbers for 42 individuals of A. umbellatus are reported for the first time. Key words: Aster, Doellingeria, Triplopappus, multivariate morphometric study, Aster umbellatus, key.
Oligonucleotide primers used to amplify target DNA regions via PCR should meet certain design criteria to maximize the potential for efficient priming. The Random Oligonucleotide Construction Kit (ROCK), a spreadsheet-based program that runs under Microsoft® Excel® 97 or later version for Microsoft Windows™, was developed to facilitate the design of efficient random oligonucleotide primers. Primer sequences are generated that meet user-defined criteria with regard to G+C content, size of a 3′ GC clamp, maximum intramolecular/intermolecular complementation potential, and maximum intersequence similarity. The user can analyze the intramolecular/intermolecular complementation potential of program-generated primer sequences or of sequences entered manually. The latter may contain any of the standard nucleotide symbols, including ambiguous bases. Primer sequence length, GC%, individual base composition, molecular weight, approximate melting temperature, and mass/volume/concentration relationships can be determined for any sequence generated by ROCK or entered manually.
The interrelationships among achene weight, allocation to embryo and pericarp, and germination time were determined for 500 stratified achenes of tetraploid Aster pilosus Willd. var. pilosus. Only 52.6% of the achenes germinated. Germinated achenes were significantly heavier than ungerminated achenes. Germination time was independent of achene weight and embryo weight, but varied inversely with pericarp weight. Variable achene weight is evolutionarily advantageous. Heavy achenes are at an advantage in that their proportionately larger embryos and thinner pericarps facilitate germination, promoting competitive establishment of seedlings. Lighter achenes are also at an advantage through increased dispersibility, and their relatively thick pericarp provides a persistent seed bank. Evolutionary pressures presumably maintain the variability in achene weight of var. pilosus. These results are discussed in the context of the early midsuccessional ecology of var. pilosus.
The complex is treated as a single species, Aster lanceolatus, on the basis of fieldwork, garden studies, herbarium work, and multivariate analyses of morphological variation of reproductive structures among 200 representative specimens. Two subspecies are recognized: ssp. hesperius occurring in western North America and ssp. lanceolatus occurring in central and eastern North America. Subspecies lanceolatus is further divided into four varieties: var. hirsuticaulis, var. interior, var. lanceolatus (including A. simplex), and var. latifolius. The typical variety is the most diverse and is considered to include forms most like the ancestor of the species. A key to the five infraspecific taxa is presented along with full synonymy. The following new names and combinations are proposed: Aster lanceolatus ssp. hesperius, A. lanceolatus ssp. lanceolatus var. hirsuticaulis, A. lanceolatus ssp. lanceolatus var. interior, and A. lanceolatus ssp. lanceolatus var. latifolius.
