Untitled

Abstract

In the Sierras de Calilegua we recognized seven species of Dioscorea as part of their flora and an eighth entity that we named Dioscorea sp., which showed some morphological features similar to D. glomerulata and D. haumanii, possible progenitors of this, since they share the area of distribution in zones conducive to the phenomenon of hybridization. The aim of the present work was to analyze the floral morphology and leaf morphoanatomy of D. glomerulata, D. haumanii and Dioscorea sp. We worked with fresh and herborized material to which conventional techniques were applied. The results showed that the morphoanatomical characteristics of Dioscorea sp. are not intermediate to those of their probable parents. Principal components analysis allowed to group individuals of each entity separately. For this reason, we can conclude that this study places Dioscorea sp. in a stable and independent position.