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A Systematic Revision of Passiflora Section Dysosmia (Passifloraceae)

Svoboda, Harlan T.
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9081-5980
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1532018615453033

Abstract Details

2018, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Plant Biology (Arts and Sciences).
One of the most taxonomically difficult groups in the passionflower genus (Passiflora, Passifloraceae) is section Dysosmia. For centuries, the taxa belonging to this group have proven difficult to classify or even name. Various authors over the years have attempted to tackle the complex task of describing the diversity in this section and have done so with varying degrees of success; often times shuffling names between species or recognizing taxa at differing ranks. Ellsworth Killip, in his 1938 monograph of the family, introduced a litany of varietal names for one of the most notoriously complicated species, Passiflora foetida, in an attempt to make sense of the staggering degree of morphological variation. His work remains a foundation for the systematics of Dysosmia as well as that of the rest of the genus to this day. The section was most recently revised by John Vanderplank in 2013, who took a more conservative approach by synonymizing many names and renaming others to more accurately reflect our changing taxonomic hypotheses. At the outset of this project 21 species and nine varieties were recognized and accepted in the section. The primary goal of this research was to use modern techniques and provide new evidence to aid in the delimitation of the taxa within section Dysosmia. An exhaustive nomenclatural study was conducted in order to ascertain the extent to which the sectional diversity has already been named. Dozens of names were subsequently typified and corrected in order to bring them into compliance with the current Code of Nomenclature. Intensive morphological studies were performed to investigate the use of macro- and micromorphological features—some of which never before assessed—for the delimitation of taxa. Robust statistical analyses revealed at least three species assemblages or lineages within section Dysosmia that were then the focus of subsequent work, particularly a conspicuous red-fruited complex. Geometric morphometric descriptors were also pursued for the purposes of classification and show promise for objective classification of an otherwise unruly group. Molecular approaches were explored to test the hypotheses of monophyly and relationships within the section but were not successful. Finally, climatic and soil data were employed to investigate a complex of taxa and delimit distinct entities at the rank of species. These data were also informative in describing habitat characteristics of the species. This is the first time that evidence of this kind has been used for taxonomic delimitation in Passiflora. The culmination of this research was a comprehensive synopsis of a portion of the section, comprising all of the red-fruited taxa, in which several new species and combinations were proposed. The current understanding of section Dysosmia brings the number of recognized taxa to 31 species and five putative varieties.
Harvey Ballard, Jr. (Advisor)
Morgan Vis (Committee Member)
Rebecca Snell (Committee Member)
Alycia Stigall (Committee Member)
John MacDougal (Committee Member)
251 p.
Botany; Plant Sciences
Passiflora; Dysosmia; Passifloraceae; passionflowers; taxonomy; classification; morphology; phenetics; morphometrics; nomenclature;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Svoboda, H. T. (2018). A Systematic Revision of Passiflora Section Dysosmia (Passifloraceae) [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1532018615453033

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Svoboda, Harlan. A Systematic Revision of Passiflora Section Dysosmia (Passifloraceae). 2018. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1532018615453033.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Svoboda, Harlan. "A Systematic Revision of Passiflora Section Dysosmia (Passifloraceae)." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1532018615453033

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.