Clustering Analyses Of Ficus Erecta Complex And Its Allies Based On Comparative Taxonomic Anatomy

Ficus erecta complex and its allies,which belong to Ficus subgen.Ficus sect.Ficus subsect.Frutescentiae(Moraceae),include most species of subsect.Frutescentiae.They mainly distribute in Sino-Himalayan region.These species are dioecious plants,with special mutualism relationships to wasps and with distinct phenology.A wide range of morphological variation and ambiguous interspecies boundaries in the group makes systemayic traits unclear and identification a tough task.A detailed morphological and anatomical study was conducted in this research,which sampled 561 specimens including 215 figs of 21 species and 3 varieties of Ficus erecta complex and its allies.PCA,ML,UPGMA and NJ analysis based on 155 traits(including 22 traits of vegetations and altitude,133 traits of figs and flowers)was conducted.The results are as follows:1.It is matching in some degree between result of clustering based on morphological traits and molecular phylogenetic tree.The former provides morphological support for some species in molecular phylogenetic tree,which include F.tannoensis,F.vaccinioides,F.formosana,F.periptera,F.abelii of Ficus erecta complex and F.heteromorpha,F.variolosa,F.tuphapensis,F.ischnopoda,F.pedunculosa of its allies.2.Analysis based on morphological traits show that F.erecta,F.stenophylla,F.pyriformis,F.filicauda,F.neriifolia,F.chapaensis and F.trivia have obviously interspecific delimitation.Their disagreement with molecular phylogenetic tree may be resulted from hybridization among sympatric fig taxa.Host shift provided possibility for hybriding.3.Valuable taxonomic traits were filtrated via PCA combined ML clustering analysis,which mainly include 24 items,i.e.,whether young twig creeping,indumentum of young twig,indumentum of stipule,standard deviation of petiole length,lamina length,length-width ratio ratio,incision of lamina margin,extending length of basal nerves,altitude,the way of fig insertion,diameter of fig,thickness of fig wall,whether with fig peduncle,indumentum of basal bracts,indumentum of ostiolar bracts,the number of gall-flower in gall-fig,tepal connectivity of gall-flower,ratio of staminate flowers in gall-fig,position of staminate flower,tepal connectivity of staminate flower,relative length of staminate tepals to stamens,length of kernel with endocarp,status of ridge of kernel.Some critical traits,for example,with/without pedicel,position of broadest part of leaf,and texture of leaf,had been used to identify this subsection,but these traits were proved to be unstable within species or non-differential.4.Our study added morphological information to the diagnosis of Ficus erecta complex and its allies.What's more,a exercisable key to the group was made based on taxonomic traits.These work lay the foundations for taxonomic revision of the group.