Species Identification in the Rhododendron vernicosum-R. decorum Species Complex (Ericaceae).

ABSTRACT: Delimitating species boundaries is the primary aim of biological classification and could be critical for evaluating the evolving process of species and conserving biodiversity. Rhododendron is an iconic group with an extraordinary diversity in southwest China. However, it remains unknown whether the recorded species therein comprise independently evolving lineages or artificially delimitated morphological entities. In this study, we carried out species delimitation of four Rhododendron species in the R. vernicosum-R. decorum species complex based on morphological analyses and population genetic data from nuclear simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers. We randomly selected a total of 105 specimens of different individuals identified as four species across their d

SUBMITTER: Mao X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7876077 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature