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21 November 2016 Taxonomic circumscription of the N African endemic Biscutella raphanifolia (Brassicaceae) based on morphological and molecular characters
Alicia Vicente, Ma Ángeles Alonso, Manuel B. Crespo
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Abstract

Biscutella raphanifolia is a species distributed in N Algeria and Tunisia, characterized by the presence of large, lyrate basal leaves, amplexicaul cauline leaves, and paniculate-branched inflorescences. It has been traditionally considered the only perennial taxon from B. sect. Biscutella, lifespan being the strongest argument used to differentiate B. raphanifolia from other annual taxa such as B. algeriensis, B. confusa or B. didyma var. coriophora, with which it shares both morphological characters and distribution. Reevaluation of morphological characters in the light of phylogenetic trees from plastid (rpl32-trnL and trnV) and nuclear (ITS region) sequence data support a new circumscription of B. raphanifolia to include all those annual taxa. As a result, the new combination B. raphanifolia var. algeriensis is established, descriptions are provided for both varieties, and synonyms and lectotypes are indicated or designated for the names concerned.

Version of record first published online on 21 November 2016 ahead of inclusion in December 2016 issue.

© 2016 The Authors · This open-access article is distributed under the CC BY 4.0 licence
Alicia Vicente, Ma Ángeles Alonso, and Manuel B. Crespo "Taxonomic circumscription of the N African endemic Biscutella raphanifolia (Brassicaceae) based on morphological and molecular characters," Willdenowia 46(3), 411-422, (21 November 2016). https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.46.46309
Received: 20 April 2016; Accepted: 1 October 2016; Published: 21 November 2016
KEYWORDS
Algeria
Biscutella
Brassicaceae
Cruciferae
lectotype
molecular phylogeny
new combination
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