Recognition and differentiation of species in the Passiflora sidifolia complex

The variation in leaf morphology observed in Passifloraceae is one of the most extreme cases in the Angiosperms, allowing some species within this family to be distinguished by their leaves. Nevertheless, other species in this family are difficult to recognize based solely on leaf morphology, or by floral and molecular characteristics. Aiming to verify the similarities and differences between the Passiflora species P. actinia, P. elegans, P. sidifolia and P. watsoniana, detailed analyses were conducted regarding the morphological traits of the leaf blade, specifically, shape and venation, and the flower. The data were composed of continuous and qualitative values, using the Gower coefficient. A Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) and cluster analysis were performed. Features that have not previously been used for the Passifloraceae, such as leaf venation, were important for the distinction of P. watsoniana from the other species. The analyses including only the species P. actinia, P. sidifolia and P. elegans showed a clear differentiation between them. Despite the wide variability observed in P. elegans, the analysis revealed that the different populations from different regions had more similarities with each other than with any other species.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author