Abstract
Alstroemeria L. (Alstroemeriaceae) represents one of the most diverse genera of vascular plants in Chile. It contains approximately 54 taxa, 40 of which are endemic. The “complex” Alstroemeria magnifica is endemic to Chile, and it comprises four varieties: A. magnifica var. magenta, A. magnifica var. magnifica, A. magnifica var. sierrae, and A. magnifica var. tofoensis. It is distributed from Coquimbo to the Valparaíso Region. We analyzed karyotypes of 10 populations along its natural distribution. All the populations presented an asymmetric karyotype, with 2n = 16 chromosomes but with three different karyotypic formulae. Alstroemeria magnifica var. magnifica and A. magnifica var. sierrae presented the same karyotypic fomula, and A. magnifica var. magenta, and A. magnifica var. tofoensis each had a different formula. The scatter plot among CVCL vs. MCA shows different groupings between populations of the four varieties. Based on the results, it is possible to consider raising Alstroemeria magnifica var. magenta to species level (A. magenta) and A. magnifica var. tofoensis to subspecies level (A. magnifica subsp. tofoensis); A. magnifica var. magnifica and A. magnifica var. sierrae should each remain as varieties. Nevertheless, these taxonomic changes should be considered tentative, as additional sources of evidence become available.
Highlights
Alstroemeria is a South American genus, which comprises about 82 taxa distributed from Venezuela (3°N) to Tierra del Fuego (53°S) (Muñoz and Moreira, 2003)
The centers of distribution of this genus are located in Central Chile and East of Brazil, representing a disjoint pattern of distribution produced by the isolating effect of the Cordillera de Los Andes and the South American Arid Diagonal (Muñoz and Moreira, 2003; Hofreiter, 2007; Chacón et al, 2012a)
Alstroemeria, with the validation of Alstroemeria citrina Phil. (Eyzaguirre, 2008) and Alstroemeria parvula Phil. (Muñoz et al, 2011). These modifications include the discovery of Alstroemeria hookeri Lodd. subsp. sansebastiana C.M
Summary
Alstroemeria is a South American genus, which comprises about 82 taxa distributed from Venezuela (3°N) to Tierra del Fuego (53°S) (Muñoz and Moreira, 2003). Traditional taxonomic treatments in Alstroemeria have largely been based on patterns of variability of their conspicuous flowers, which present tepals with a wide display of morphological and coloring patterns (Bayer, 1987; Muñoz and Moreira, 2003) These structures, while useful for discrimination at interspecific levels, usually exhibit levels of variation beyond levels of stability required for a robust taxonomic discrimination in several groups of species (Baeza et al, 2010, 2015, 2016a,b). Sierrae (Muñoz) Muñoz-Schick: This variety occurs in a restricted distribution, from 29o36’S to 29°45’S It presents flowers of large size, which are distinctive by the design present in the internal upper tepals, and having lines forming a large spot at the apex and basis of this structure. Using representative sampling from the total of the geographic range of distribution, we expect to offer a suggested clarification of the taxonomic status of each variety within the complex
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