Taxonomic studies in the genera Tribulus and Kallstroemia Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Storm, Gertrude Johanna Schaufler, 1939- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 30/09/2021 02:12:18 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/319431 TAXONOMIC STUDIES IN THE GENERA TR I BULUS AND KALLSTROEMIA ' : : : : x - ' by Gertrude S. Storm A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the , DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY In Part ial Fulf11Iment of the Requirements ’ For the Degree o f MASTER OF SCIENCE In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA - 1963 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted In partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in The University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable with­ out special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quo­ tation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in their judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholar­ ship. In a ll other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED; G&*cX'i+*ksL APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: CHARLES T. MASON , (JJR. / DateT Professor of Botany ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to express her sincere apprecia­ tion to Dr. Charles T. Mason, J r., Dr. Walter S. P h illip s , and Dr. B. M. Harris for their many helpful suggestions during the course of her graduate study. She is especially indebted to Dr. Mason and Dr. Harris for their help in preparation of the manuscript, and to Dr. L. W. Storm for his patience and help. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES , .... ... v ABSTRACT . ;. , . vi INTRODUCTION . .... 1 GERMINATION STUDIES. .... ... 5 Experiment I » . .... ... 6 Experiment II . , . „ . 7 Experiment III.................... 9 D i s cu ssi on o.e.o.oo.-. ........... 1 0 CYTOLOGICAL STUDIES. ........ ... ... ... 12 CHROMATOGRAPHY STUDIES ................. 13 POLLEN VIABILITY STUDIES ................ 26 S UMMARY 6 0 9 0 O O 6 6 0 . 0 O . 0,0 O O 6 . O . 0 . 26 LITERATURE CITED . ................. 30 i v LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES FIgure Page 1. Rf values from a chromatogram of an unknown species of Kal 1 stroemia . ... , .... 16 - , ■ . ■ ;■ ' ............... 2. Rf values from a chromatogram of TrIbulus te rre s tr Is . .... 17 3. Rf values from a chromatogram of Kal1stroemia grand I flo ra . ..... ..... ... 18 4. Rf values from a chromatogram of K. grand!flora. , . 19 5. Rf values from a chromatogram of K. calIfo rn lca. 20 . - — — — -------- 6. Rf values from a chromatogram of K. parvlflora ..... ....... 21 7. Rf values from a chromatogram of K. parvl flo ra » . , . , . .... ... 22 , — ■ ■■ . " , , 8. Rf values from a chromatogram of K. hi rsut Iss l.ma . 23 • Table ■ - , . • : : . ■. ' ,■ ■ , 1. Results of eight treatments of fruit segments of Kal1stroemia grand!flora . ......... 8 2. Per cent viability of pollen of the four ArI zona Kal1stroemi a spec I as. 26 v ABSTRACT The relationship between two genera in the Zygophyl1aceae was explored by means of paper chromatography of leaves and embryos, karyotype studies, and pollen viabil­ ity studjes of Tribu1 us terrestris, Ka11stroemia grand!flora, K. parvi flora, J<„ cali fornica, and K„ hirsutisslma. A num- ber of treatments were used in an attempt to germinate seeds of Kailstroemi a. Radicle extrusion occurred on some fruit segments which had been subject to high temperature and suf­ ficient moisture, but the radicles quickly became contami­ nated. A count of the chromosomes in root tips of Tribulus te rres tr is showed a 2n number of 24. Attempts to determine the karyotype of Kalistroemia grand?flora using pollen mother cells were not successful. Chromatograms of leaves and embryos of K. grand!flora, K. parvi flo ra , and K. cal i forn i ca s how a s t r i k i h g si mi' 1 a r it y . Tribul us ter rest ri s is also very similar to these taxa. Chromatograms of K. hi rsutissima differed in number and placing of spots. A study of pollen grains from herbarium specimens showed that the four taxa of Kalistroemia in Arizona possess a very high degree of pollen viability. These results indicate a close relationship between the three taxa of Kal1stroemi a and Trlbulus te rre s trfs . They do not support separation of the three taxa of Kalistroemia into species, or of Tribulus and Kal1stroemia into two genera. INTRODUCTION Members of two genera of the Zygophyl1aceae now generally accepted as separate, fribulus and Kal1stroemia, were f ir s t described by Linnaeus (11) as belonging to one genus, Tribulus, in the class Decandria, Monoqynia. He recognized four species: T« maximus,, T. 1 anuqinosus, T. te rr e s tris , and cistoides. Scopoli (I? ) s p lit Linnaeus' Tribulus into two genera oh a basis of the fruit structure. He described the genus Tribulus as having a schizocarp breaking up into five parts of two locules each, with each locule containing one or two seeds, and Kal1stroemia as having a schizocarp of ten seg­ ments, each with one embryo. This criterion of fruit structure provides the present basis for separation of the two genera (9, 22). Three of Linnaeus' original Tribulus species are still recognized as val id: T. te rre s tr Is , T, cistoides, and T_. lanuq? nosus. The fourth is now named J<. maxima (L. ) Torrey and Gray. The author's discussion of the two genera is confined to the one species of Tribulus, £° terrestr i s, and the four species of Kal1stroemia, K. qrandiflora, K, californica, K. parviflora, and K. h i rsutissima, which occur in Arizona. :i 2 Tr?bulus te rre s tris is native to the Sahara Desert, and was probably introduced into the United States around i860 by importation of livestock to the range lands of the midwest (8). It has spread rapidly, and is now found from C alifornia to the Southern A tlan tic seaboird. T. te rre s tris is classified as a noxious weed because of two long sharp spines on each fr u it segment, which have given rise to the common names of “goat headcli and “puncture v in e .” It is a prostrate annual in Arizona, with 8-12 leaflets pinnately arranged, and small, yellow, a x illa ry , s o lita ry , peduncled flowers. Kal1stroemia grand!f1 ora was first described in 1852 by Torrey, who saw it in Hooker's herbarium and published his description of it with the present specific epithet in Gray9s nPlantae Wrightianae” (7)> Where its distribution is given as "borders of the Gila,n Its center of dispersal is not known. K. grand if io ta , di ffers from the other species of Kal1stroemia in Arizona by having larger petals (15-30 mm), long style (beak) (8-11 mm), and persistent sepals, Watson (23) described K. californica as Iribulus c a lifo rn icu s, having a " fru it deeply lobed, . short-beaked, the carpels with four or five stout obtuse tubercles upon the back; . collected by Dr. E. Palmer, in Lower C alifornia (1 S/D)> on the eastern side of the peninsula." Vail (21) published the present cbmbination in 1895, giving the distri­ bution as “Arizona, Northern Mexico and Lower C alifo rn ia ." If this is properly a Kal1stroemia, as it has been classified since V a il‘ s combination was published, it should have ten carpels. Watson8s description of the fruit as being "deeply five-lobed" is of interest. Brewer and Watson (4) later refer to T. cali fornicus as being a "true Tribulus" with five carpels. Examination of the original specimen would be. of value. The taxon which at present is called K. cal iforni.ca has elevated and sharp dorsal tubercles on the fr u it segments> small petals (less than 12 mm), beak of less than 3 mm, and sepals deciduous before the fr u it matures. Kal1stroemia p a rv iflo ra , which had been collected in Mississippi and Texas, was described by Norton (13) in 1898 as a new species. It has a beak 5~8 mm long, persistent sepals, and petals 6-8 mm long. Norton described it as being "nearest K. grand!flora of the Southwest U.S., but differs from that species in the smaller leaves with fewer leaflets and smaller flowers," Kal1stroemia hi rsutissima differs from K. californica in its abundant pubescence on the leaves and stems. Length of its beak is less than 3 mm, and sepals are persistent. It was first described by A. M. Vail i n i 903 in Small's EBFlora of the Southeastern U .S." Its range at that time was given as Kansas and Colorado, to Texas, New Mexico and Mexico (18). This thesis is an attempt to explore the relationship of the two genera. The only consistent difference between them is the appearance of the fr u it and the number of fr u it segments. Flower size, growth habit, and all other vegeta­ tive characteristics are not consistently distinct enough to be used as criteria for separation.