A morphometric study of populations of the Centaurea jacea complex (Asteraceae) in Belgium

The Centaurea jacea aggregate is a polymorphic polyploid complex whose taxonomic treatment is still controversial. A numerical taxonomic approach was applied to 394 individuals of known ploidy level, from 19 populations, based on the main diagnostic characters proposed in earlier revisions. Populations from xeric grasslands were not considered. Principal Component Analysis shows that variation within the complex is continuous. UPGMA Cluster Analysis based on population means supports the recognition of three groups of populations. However, the limits between these groups are blurred to a consi... Mehr ...