Morphological Comparisons of Taiwan Native Wild Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze forma formosensis Kitamura) and Two Closely Related Taxa Using Numerical Methods

臺灣野生? (Camellia sinensis f. formosensis) 乃泛指自生於臺灣中海拔山區的??植物，臺灣植物誌將其中名稱為臺灣山?。在分?史上，臺灣野生?曾經被處?成?個?同分?階層的歸屬。為?提供分?學者一個?客觀的看法，我們?用?值分?方法中的群聚分析 (cluster analysis) 與非線性主成份分析 (nonlinear principal component analysis)，計算?165 份標本中的16 個營養及11 個花部特徵的測?值，並依據分析結果?探究臺灣野生?與關係密?的? (C. sinensis var. sinensis) 和阿薩姆? (C. sinensis var. assamica)的區別。將營養及花部特徵獨?或合併進?群聚分析的結果幾乎一致地指出臺灣野生?在形態特徵上的獨?性。相反地，?與阿薩姆?的形態差?卻無法被解析出?。非線性主成份分析則顯現休眠芽與子房的毛被?態是區分臺灣野生?以及?與阿薩姆?的最有效特徵。?照目前分?學家對?與阿薩姆?這?群植物的分?處?，我們建議臺灣野生?應該被處?成種的階層會比較恰當。Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze forma formosensis Kitamura is generally referred to as the tea plant growing naturally in mid-elevation mountains of Taiwan. Several taxonomic treatments have been published for this plant in the past, but some contradictory results have been obtained. To assess the taxonomic position of the wild tea plant and explore its relationship with two other closely related taxa, C. sinensis var. sinensis and C. sinensis var. assamica, 16 vegetative and 11 floral characters were examined on 165 OTUs. The data were analyzed using cluster analysis and nonlinear principal components analysis. All cluster phenograms consistently separated the native wild tea plant from two other related taxa. Conversely, pronounced admixture between C. sinensis var. sinensis and C. sinensis var. assamica was present. The nonlinear principal components analysis indicated that the surface features of buds and ovaries are two diagnostic characters. Based on the present study, it is proposed that the Taiwan native wild tea plant might deserve recognition as a distinct species