Data from: Disentangling species limits in the Vauquelinia corymbosa complex (Pyreae, Rosaceae)

Vauquelinia corymbosa (Pyreae, Rosaceae) is a shrubby sclerophyllous species largely restricted to the Chihuahuan Desert, distributed from Texas, Coahuila, and along the Sierra Madre Oriental to Hidalgo. According to a previous taxonomic revision, it comprises six subspecies. Vauquelinia corymbosa has noteworthy morphological variation, mostly in leaf characters, and the majority of its subspecies are restricted to certain areas of the desert. In this study, based on 16 morphometric characters and four anatomical characters collected from 201 specimens of the six subspecies throughout their distribution range,we ran a number of uni-, multivariate, and phylogenetic analyses to determine how many species can be recognized in this species complex. We also analyzed the gaps in morphology across geography to identify whether gaps in morphometric characters are indeed useful to separate species or if they are the result of variation related to geography. The results of the analyses coincided in recognizing that subsp. angustifolia should be considered a separate species and that the remaining subspecies are part of Vauquelinia corymbosa with remarkable morphological variation. Vauquelinia angustifolia has diagnostic characters such as very narrow leaves (0.4–0.6 cm at the middle and 0.2–0.4 cm at the base) and short petioles (1–1.5 cm) and it is restricted to the northeastern region of the Chihuahuan Desert.Matrix of anatomical charactersMatrix of five anatomical characters observed from 32 specimens of Vauquelinia corymbosa complex.Anatomical_characters.xlsMatrix of geographic distancesMatrix of geographic distances of data occurrence of 201 specimens of the subspecies of Vauquelinia corymbosa utilized in the Mantel Test.Geographic_distances.xlsMatrix1 used in Parsimony analysesMatrix of sixteen morphological characters of 32 populations of the subspecies of Vauquelinia corymbosa used in Parsimony analyses.Matrix_ Parsimony1.txtMatrix2 used in Parsimony analysesMatrix of eight morphological leaf characters of 32 populations of the subspecies of Vauquelinia corymbosa used in Parsimony analyses.Matrix_ Parsimony2.txtMorphological matrix1Matrix of sixteen morphological characters observed from 201 specimens of the Vauquelinia corymbosa complex.Morphological_matrix1.xlsMatrix of morphometric distancesMatrix of morphometric distances of sixteen morphological character of 201 specimens of the subspecies of Vauquelinia corymbosa utilized in Mantel test.Morphometric_distances.xlsParsimonious trees 1Set of most parsimonious trees retained in Parsimony analysis based on a data matrix of sixteen morphological characters of 32 populations of the subspecies of Vauquelinia corymbosa.ParsimoniousTrees1.treParsimonious trees 2Set of most parsimonious trees retained in Parsimony analysis based on a data matrix of eight leaf morphological characters of 32 populations of the subspecies of Vauquelinia corymbosa.ParsimoniousTrees2.trePCA scores 1Principal Component Analysis scores based on sixteen morphological characters observed from 201 specimens examined in this study.PCA scores 2Principal Component Analysis scores based on eight leaf characters observed from 201 specimens.Morphological matrix2Data matrix of georefences of the 201 specimens of the Vauquelinia corymbosa complex along with their measures of sixteen morphometric characters.Morphological_matrix2s.xls