TITLE Cytological features of the Aster ageratoides complex (Asteraceae) in Taiwan
AUTHOR Akiko Soejima
College of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka 599-8531, Japan
Ching-I Peng
Institute of Botany, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei 115, Taiwan
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ABSTRACT Chromosome cytology was examined in two species of the Aster ageratoides complex, A. ageratoides Turcz. (= A. leiophyllus Franch. et Sav.) and A. lasioclada Hayata, in Taiwan. Of the 70 individuals of A. ageratoides sampled, one was found to be diploid (2n = 18) and the rest tetraploid (2n = 36, 37). The occurrence of the diploid A. ageratoides in Taiwan appears to be ancient. Eighteen individuals of A. lasioclada were examined, of which 15 were diploids (2n = 18) and three triploids (2n = 27, 28). The triploid plants were not sympatric with tetraploid plants and could not be distinguished morphologically from the diploids; they may represent spontaneously occurring individuals with one unreduced gamete.
KEYWORD Aster ageratoides; Aster lasioclada; Aster leiophyllus; Asteraceae; Chromosome number; Taiwan;
ARTICLE INFO Botanical Bulletin of Academia Sinica, Volume 39 Number 4 October 1998, page 299-302, 4 pages
PUBLISHER Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China