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The taxonomic status of closely related closed cone pines in Mexico and Central America

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Abstract

A taxonomic study on 14 cone and needle traits of 281 trees from 33 provenances of Pinus oocarpa, P. oocarpa var. ochoterenae, P. patula var. longipedunculata, P. patula var. patula and P. tecunumanii in Central America and Mexico was conducted to quantify the affinity between closely related species. A second objective was to determine the geographic range of P. tecunumanii in Mexico. Cluster analysis placed 52% of all provenances in taxa different from those assigned by field foresters. Trees from 15 provenances of what was locally known as Pinus oocarpa var. ochoterenae from Chiapas were statistically indistinguishable from high elevation Central American sources of P. tecuncumanii when assessed for cone and needle characteristics. However, trees from two provenances known locally as P. oocarpa var. ochoterenae from southwestern Oaxaca, Juquila and Tlacuache, were found to be distinct from P. tecunumanii and may be a variant of P. patula. Canonical discriminant analysis was used to determine the taxonomic affinity among newly formed clusters. The spatial (Mahalanobis) distance between P. tecunumanii and P. patula var. patula, P. patula var. longipedunculata, and P. oocarpa was 42.0, 44.4, and 109.4 respectively, and highly significant. The geographic range of Pinus tecunumanii in Mexico appears to be confined to the state of Chiapas.

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Dvorak, W.S., Raymond, R.H. The taxonomic status of closely related closed cone pines in Mexico and Central America. New Forest 4, 291–307 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00119208

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00119208

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