Taxonomy of the Fraxinus caroliniana (Oleaceae) complex in Florida
A 2010 article by Guy Nesom, published in the online journal Phytoneuron and dealing with the taxonomy of the water ash complex, offers an alternative interpretation of what has long been treated as F. caroliniana (popash) in Florida. In his paper, Taxonomy of the Water Ashes: Fraxinus caroliniana, F. cubensis, and F. pauciflora (Oleaceae), Nesom proposes treating the complex as 3 distinct species, distinguishing between them on the basis of leaf and samara morphology. According to Nesom’s analysis, the range of F. cubensis is primarily from about Marion and Sumter counties southward and that of F. caroliniana from Marion County northward and westward, whereas the range of F. pauciflora overlaps completely with F. caroliniana and the more northern part of the range of F. cubensis. Nesom’s paper provides county dot range maps for all three taxa, as well as full descriptions and a key that distinguishes the three from each other as well as from F. americana and F. profunda.
Add comment December 25th, 2010
