Cytogenetical study of Pringlea antiscorbutica R. Br. and Ranunculus moseleyi Hook. f. from the Kerguelen Islands

Abstract

Pringlea antiscorbutica R. Br. (Brassicaceae) and Ranunculus moseleyi Hook. f. (Ranunculaceae) are two species endemic to the subantarctic phytogeographical zone of the south Indian Ocean (Marion and Prince Edward, Crozet, Kerguelen and Heard Islands) (Chastain 1958). The first species is the well-known “Kerguelen cabbage”, and for this taxonomic anomaly a monospecific genus was created (Hooker 1848). The only chromosome count available is by Hamel (1951). The second species Ranunculus moseleyi was first believed to be a strict endemic of the Kerguelen Islands, and then apparently was recorded on Crozet and Marion Islands (Greene & Walton 1975).