Western North American Naturalist Volume 60 Number 4 Article 2 10-31-2000 Geographic distribution, morphological and molecular characterization, and relationships of Lathrocasis tenerrima (Polemoniaceae) Leigh A. Johnson North Caolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina Terri L. Weese North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/wnan Recommended Citation Johnson, Leigh A. and Weese, Terri L. (2000) "Geographic distribution, morphological and molecular characterization, and relationships of Lathrocasis tenerrima (Polemoniaceae)," Western North American Naturalist: Vol. 60 : No. 4 , Article 2. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/wnan/vol60/iss4/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Western North American Naturalist Publications at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Western North American Naturalist by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact
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[email protected]. Western North American Naturalist 60(4), © 2000, pp. 355–373 GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION, MORPHOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION, AND RELATIONSHIPS OF LATHROCASIS TENERRIMA (POLEMONIACEAE) Leigh A. Johnson1 and Terri L. Weese1 ABSTRACT.—Lathrocasis is a recently recognized genus of Polemoniaceae that circumscribes the species first named Gilia tenerrima A. Gray. This species, distributed primarily in the Great Basin and Rocky Mountain floristic regions, has previously escaped thorough taxonomic scrutiny. Surveys of herbarium specimens and living material show that some features of this species have been inaccurately characterized in the past, while other characteristics have not been previ- ously considered in assessing its relationships. Lathrocasis possesses a distinct suite of morphological features that, con- sidered as a whole, distinguish this taxon at the generic level.