Taxonomic significance of leaf and stem anatomy of Agalinis (Scrophulariaceae) from the U.S.A. and Canada

Abstract

Features of foliar and stem anatomy of 26 annual and 1 perennial species of North American Agalinis were examined from over 200 population samples. Several species including A. aphylla, A. densiflora, A. filicaulis, A. heterophylla, A. linifolia, A. maritima, and A. oligophylla have distinctive anatomy. Evidence from anatomy supports a reclassification of North American Agalinis at the sectional and subsectional ranks. Agalinis aphylla and A. oligophylla are allied with species of section Erectae, not section Purpureae subsection Setaceae. Agalinis edwardsiana (from section Tenuifoliae) and A. aspera (section Asperae) are most similar to members of section Purpureae subsection Pedunculares. Agalinis tenuifolia (section Tenuifoliae) is similar to species of section Purpureae subsection Purpureae. Anatomical characters range from those usually regarded as xeromorphic to those typical of hydromorphic species. However, different xeromorphic characters are present in species of sections Purpureae, Erectae, and Tenuifoliae. Species of section Purpureae subsection Setaceae have filiform, adaxially grooved leaves; species of section Erectae have narrow, short sclerenchyma-reinforced leaves and very slender stems usually having fiber bundles in their ridges. Species that we retain in section Tenuifoliae have a cylinder of sclerenchyma between the vascular tissues and the fiber-laden cortex. Key words: Agalinis, Scrophulariaceae, anatomy, systematics, taxonomy.