Lippia integrifolia versus L. boliviana (Verbenaceae)

Abstract

Lippia integrifolia and L. boliviana are related species that share the presence of appendices in anthers, apparently glandular. Several authors distinguished this species by leaf shape and margin. Collections coming from northern Salta (Argentina) display intermediate characters among both species. To evaluate whether there is a morphological basis to distinguish L. integrifolia from L. boliviana, phenetic relationships among 40 specimens including both species and their varieties were studied. Amatrix of 46 morphologic characters was analyzed by cluster and ordination methods. Both the dendrogram and the distribution of the specimens in the principal components (PCA) analysis suggest that a precise limit between both species does not exist, and no characters to differentiate them were found. Consequently, L. boliviana is placed under the synonymy of L. integrifolia. A description of the species, the synonym list, a figure and map of distribution are included.