Systematic studies on the Zygophyllaceae of Saudi Arabia: new combinations in Tetraena Maxim.

Authors: DHAFER ALZAHRANI, ENAS ALBOKHARI

Abstract: During 2013 and 2014, fresh material of Tetraena hamiensis (Schweinf.) Beier & Thulin was collected from four different localities in Saudi Arabia. Some morphological differences, especially in leaf, flower parts, and fruit characters, were observed among individuals of this species within the same location. Principal coordinates analysis and the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic algorithm clustering test split off individuals of T. hamiensis with these morphological varieties as three clusters; one comprises individuals with characters overlapping those of T. hamiensis, one comprises individuals with characters overlapping those of T. qatarensis, and one comprises individuals with characters overlapping those of T. mandavillei. Therefore, T. hamiensis, T. qatarensis, and T. mandavillei are herein considered as varieties of T. hamiensis (T. hamiensis var. hamiensis, T. hamiensis var. qatarensis, and T. hamiensis var. mandavillei). Tetraena hamiensis and its varieties are illustrated and morphological characters are supplied to differentiate among them.

Keywords: Taxonomy, Tetraena, Tetraena hamiensis, Zygophyllaceae, PCoA, UPGMA, Saudi Arabia

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