TITLE	Revision of the endemic Asian genus Peracarpa (Campanulaceae: Campanuloideae) via numerical phenetics
AUTHOR	Amy L. Barnesky Department of Botany, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605-2496, USA Thomas G. Lammers Department of Botany, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605-2496, USA
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ABSTRACT	Peracarpa (Campanulaceae: Campanuloideae) is a genus of delicate perennial herbs widely distributed in mesic forest habitats of eastern Asia. Previous classifications have recognized a single species, either divided into several varieties or not, or as many as three species. This study utilized the methods of numerical phenetics (cluster analysis and principal components analysis) to assess taxonomic structure within the genus. Analysis of 38 morphological characters extracted from 72 population samples failed to disclose groups of populations that were morphologically distinguishable and geographically coherent. We conclude that the genus comprises a single species, P. carnosa, and that this species cannot be divided into intraspecific taxa in any meaningful fashion.
KEYWORD	Campanulaceae; Cluster analysis; Numerical phenetics; Peracarpa; Principal components analysis;
ARTICLE INFO	Botanical Bulletin of Academia Sinica, Volume 38 Number 1 January 1997, page 49-56, 8 pages
PUBLISHER	Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China