| Abstract Detail
Systematics Section / ASPT Takawira-Nyenya, R [1], Stedje, B. [2], Nordal, I. [3]. Systematics of the genus Sansevieria in Tropical Africa based on morphological and molecular data. The taxonomy of the genus Sansevieria has remained a challenge for many botanists working on the genus world wide owing to the sharing of characters and close similarity between species. In the Flora Zambesiaca area 20 Sansevieria species and 8 Dracaena species have been reported. In Zimbabwe alone the number of Sansevieria species recognised by various botanists based on morphological characters ranges from 8 to 15. The exact total number of Sansevieria species that occur in southern Africa is not known due to various species concepts used by botanists working on the genus. No comprehensive molecular work has been done to test the taxonomic conclusions made based on morphological data on the genus Sansevieria in southern Africa or to confirm the relationship of the genus to its putative sister group Dracaena. The current study seeks to employ DNA sequencing in delimitation of taxa in the genus Sansevieria to augment efforts put in previous taxonomic work based on morphological characters, to verify the existence of recognised taxa and to solve species complexes that have remained unresolved using morphological characters. Preliminary findings of the study using molecular data are here presented. Key Words: DNA, Sansevieria, , Africa, taxonomy,
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1 - University of Oslo, Natural history museum, Botanical Garden, P.O.Box 1172, Blindern, Oslo, Norway, Oslo, Norway, NO-0318, Norway
2 - University of Oslo, Natural Histrory Museum, Botanic Garden, P.O.Box 1172, Blindern,, NO-0318 , Oslo, Oslo, Norway, NO-0318 , Oslo, Norway
3 - University of Oslo, Department of Biology,, P.O. Box 1045, Blindern, N-0316, Oslo,, Oslo, Norway, N-0316, Oslo,, Norway
Keywords:
Sansevieria
Africa
taxonomy
DNA.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: CP16
Location: Stevens 3/Hilton
Date: Monday, July 9th, 2007
Time: 1:45 PM
Number: CP16004
Abstract ID:413 |
