Cladistics analysis of the genera Fragaria and Duchesnea (Rosaceae) based on the morphological characters in Iran

The current study deals with the morphological cladistic analysis of the genera Fragaria (including two species: F. viridis and F. vesca) and Duchesnea (including D. indica) (Rosaceae). Primarily, the plant materials were collected) both from natural habitats and dried herbarium specimens) and identified. Then, their morphological characters were carefully examined and their photographs were taken using a digital microscope. To determine the circumscription of the two genera and their species, 28 taxon and 2 outgroups were evaluated. Data analysis was carried out through the heuristic search embedded in the PAUP software. Based on the result, 9 informative morphological characters (including leaf shape, ratio of the length of flowering stem to length of basal leaf, calyx number of teeth and shape during fruiting; petals color, number of flower in each inflorescence, another shape, style position, hairy or glabrous carpels), were involved in the phylogenetic analysis using Maximum Parsimony (MP)method. The result led to monophyly of the two genera Fragaria (having single theca anther and lateral style, from subtribe Fragariinae) and Duchesnea (with two theca anther and subterminal style, from Potentillinae). In addition, F. vesca and F. viridis formed two monophyletic groups. However, the intraspecific relationship of the two genera remained unresolved. The present cladistics analysis supports the classification of the two genera in two distinct subtribes.

Keywords:

Cladistics analysis , Fragaria , Duchesnea , Morphological characters