A Taxonomic Study of Camellia Brevistyla and C. Tenuiflora (Theaceae) Based on Phenetic Analyses

使用數值分類方法探討短柱山茶與細葉山茶之分類問題

蘇夢淮(Mong-Huai Su) ； 謝長富(Chang-Fu Hsieh) ； 王震哲(Jenn-Che Wang) ； 鄒稚華(Chih-Hua Tsou)

《Botanical Studies》 53卷2期 (2012/04) Pp. 275-282

摘要

短柱山茶與細葉山茶是兩個在生態與經濟上都佔有重要地位的原生山茶屬植物，但因為形態上的近似度高而經常有難以區分的情況。本研究旨在使用以形態特徵為基礎的數值分類方法來探討兩者之間的關係。我們測量了短柱山茶、細葉山茶、恆春山茶與落瓣油茶的標本，標本來源涵蓋了台灣全島。非線性主成份分析結果指出，短柱山茶與細葉山茶形成一個無法分割的混合群，顯示兩者的形態變異極大且有所重疊。對此混合群，進一步以Pearson相關係數進行分析，發現其形態變異與地理位置呈現顯著相關。綜合上述，本研究認為短柱山茶與細葉山茶並無法以形態進行確切的分類，本結果支持先前將細葉山茶併入短柱山茶之分類處理。

關鍵字

短柱山茶 ； 細葉山茶 ； 數值分類 ； 台灣

並列摘要

Camellia brevistyla and C. tenuiflora, two ecologically and economically important species of Taiwan, have long been confused due to their morphological similarities. This paper aims to clarify their taxonomic relationship based on phenetic analyses of morphological data. We characterized the patterns of morphological variations of C. brevistyla and C. tenuiflora, along with C. hengchunensis and C. kissi, throughout their geographic ranges in Taiwan. The ordination plots obtained from non-linear principal analyses showed considerable overlap among the samples of C. brevistyla and C. tenuiflora, and none of the characters applied was able to distinguish the two species apart. Further assessment of morphological characters revealed considerable morphological variations across the entire geographic range. Pearson's correlation coefficients for the data suggested the occurrence of a continuum of morphological variation among the C. brevistyla-C. tenuiflora complex. It is concluded that C. brevistyla and C. tenuiflora belong to a single highly-variable species and the taxonomic treatment of C. tenuiflora as a synonym of C. brevistyla is supported.

並列關鍵字

Camellia brevistyla ； Camellia tenuiflora ； Phenetics ； Taiwan ； Taxonomy