INTRA AND INTER-SPECIFIC MORPHOLOGICAL VARIATIONS IN BROMUS L. SECT. GENEA (POACEAE) SPECIES IN IRAN

Intra and inter-specific morphological variations in Bromus L. sect. Genea (Poaceae) species in Iran

Phenetic studies were performed on 25 populations of 8 Bromus species and varieties of the section Genea concerning intra and inter-specific variations. Interspecific relationships and the most variable morphological characters useful in the species delimitation were also determined. Descriptive statistical analysis showed that the range of quantitative characters is much different from what is given for description of Bromus species and varieties in different flora. The species studied differed significantly in most of the quantitative characters studied and using the mean of such characters may be of use in the species delimitation. The clustering showed distinctness of the Bromus species and principal components analysis identified the most variable morphological characters among the species studied. The present study suggests the use of some ratio characters along with other quantitative and qualitative characters in taxonomy of the Bromus.