The genus Antennaria (Asteraceae: Inuleae) in North America: multivariate analysis of variation patterns in Antennaria rosea sensu lato

Abstract

Patterns of morphological variation were examined among pistillate and staminate plants of Antennaria rosea Greene s.l. and northwestern microspecies in section Dioicae which are often placed in synonomy with A. rosea. The variation observed among pistillate plants was not correlated with geography, but in certain regions such as southern Yukon, Banff and Jasper national parks, the Cypress Hills of southeastern Alberta, and in the southern range limits the likelihood of finding atypical specimens increases. The northwestern taxa A. breitungii, A. elegans, A. incarnata, A. laingii, A. leuchippi, A. oxyphylla, and atypical forms of A. subviscosa, although similar in many characteristics to A. rosea, do represent distinct morphological entities. The fact that these taxa maintain their distinctive morphologies under controlled transplant studies suggests that their species rank may be maintained. Staminate plants in the northeastern portion of their distribution were consistently larger than those found elsewhere. The importance of vegetative and vegetative–reproductive characters in the discriminant function suggests that the morphological differences are in response to environmental factors.