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[email protected] Published by CSIRO Publishing for CSIRO and the Australian Academy of Science www.publish.csiro.au/journals/asb 7 May 2002 Australian Systematic Botany 15, 205–219 Morphological variation in Leptorhynchos squamatus (Gnaphalieae: Asteraceae) Christina FlannAC, Pauline Y. LadigesA and Neville G. Walsh B ASchool of Botany, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic. 3010, Australia. BNational Herbarium of Victoria, Birdwood Avenue, South Yarra, Vic. 3141, Australia. CCorresponding author; email:
[email protected] VaC.etSBri Flal.01ationn01n 8in Leptorhynchos quamatus Abstract. A study of morphological variation in Leptorhynchos squamatus (Labill.) Less. across its range in south-eastern Australia was undertaken to test the hypothesis that L. squamatus includes two taxa. Phenetic pattern analyses of both field-collected and herbarium specimens on the basis of morphology confirmed two major groups. Bract, cypsela, pappus bristle and leaf characters were particularly important in separating the two groups. The taxa are separated by altitude differences with one being a low-altitude plant found in many habitats and the other being a high-altitude taxon that is a major component of alpine meadows. Lowland plants have dark bract tips, fewer and wider pappus bristles than alpine plants, papillae on the cypselas and more linear leaves.