Abstract
Botrychium campestre and B. lineare have, since their original descriptions, been considered closely related due to their morphological similarity. Although B. lineare was initially thought to be very rare, subsequent discoveries of many additional populations, especially in the Rocky Mountains and Sierra ranges, have afforded the opportunity to analyze hundreds of specimens on the basis of allozyme genetics. Surprisingly, B. lineare demonstrates a high degree of heterozygosity, implying an outcrossing breeding system, unlike the mostly homozygous, selfing B. campestre. However, overall levels of Nei’s Genetic Identity between the two taxa are higher than usual between species. With this knowledge, we infer that taxon lineare is probably ancestral within complex, and that taxon campestre arose from within it as an adaptation to more xeric habitats. Given that B. campestre has nomenclatural priority, we propose to recognize lineare as a variety within a more broadly construed campestre, i.e., Botrychium campestre var. lineare, and suggest that hybrid or introgressed plants, such as rarely occur (e.g., at Glacier National Park and in the Black Hills of South Dakota) be referred to only at the specific rank, i.e., without reference to variety
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Acknowledgements
We gratefully aknowledge support of this study by the USDI Fish and Wildlife Service, the USDA Forest Service, the National Parks Service, and Parks Canada. Individually we are especially appreciative of logistical support provided by Steve Popovich, Cheryl Mayer, and Mary Stensvold in key areas of Colorado, the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming, and Alaska, respectively. Chanda Skelton provided invaluable expertise in enzyme electrophoresis as well as field work. Numerous individuals are thanked for contributing specimens from across the broad range of Botrychium campestre in the US and Canada. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments and guidance.
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Suppl. Material 1
Collection data for specimens analyzed and discussed relative to establishment of genetic identification and comparisons of Botrychium campestre and B. campestre var. lineare. Population numbers are unique identifiers of population samples at a given site on a given day. Two or more populations of a species sampled on the same day but at different localities are differentiated by addition of a letter. E-number ranges (Column A) assign individual numbers to each plant collected and its associated genetic profiles (not included) as established through enzyme electrophoresis (see Methods) of large population samples with uniform genetics and morphology; not all samples were tested. Most collections were acquired through government natural areas species inventories that varied in location precision. (XLSX 78 kb)
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Farrar, D.R., Gilman, A.V. Relationships in the Botrychium campestre (Ophioglossaceae) complex. Brittonia 69, 265–275 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12228-017-9467-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12228-017-9467-3