Revision of Passiflora Subgenus Decaloba ... - Passion Flowers

CHAPTER 3
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Morphological Data Set
The morphological investigation of supersection Cieca is based upon the
careful study of over 4,200 dried specimens from 44 herbaria, supplemented with
observations from plants preserved in ethyl alcohol and living plants in the field
and greenhouse. Of the 19 species in the supersection, 13 (all except P.
clypeophylla, P. eglandulosa, P. macfadyenii, P. trinifolia, P. megacoriacea, and
P. tridactylites) were collected during field work in Jamaica, Haiti, and México, or
donated to the Passiflora greenhouse collection at the University of Florida;
several correspondents and colleagues contributed living material during the
course of this study. Vouchers are deposited at CICY and FLAS.
An average of 330 macromorphological characters were measured or
observed on each of 95 plant specimens. All of the herbarium specimens
representing supersection Cieca were carefully observed, and those spanning
the morphological variation and geographical range of each species were chosen
for measurement. Depending upon the material available, up to five
measurements were taken for each quantitative character on each specimen.
Characters were measured or scored from corresponding positions on mature,
reproductive plants from throughout the geographical range of the supersection
in order to minimize error due to developmental differences. Measurements of
the dried leaves of the species in supersection Cieca were taken according to the
16