MORPHOLOGICAL AND ALLOZYMIC EVIDENCE FOR SABATIA FORMOSA (GENTIANACEAE) IN THE SECTION CAMPESTRIA

An investigation of eleven populations of Sabatia, utilizing twelve morphological traits and fifteen allozymic loci, revealed the presence of three species in the section Campestria. Currently, the section has two recognized species, S. campestris Nutt. and S. arenicola Greenm. A stepwise discriminant analysis of the morphological data indicated the presence of the third previously described species, S. formosa Buckl. Eight of the loci were either monomorphic or there were no allozyme frequency differences among the three species. An analysis of the allozyme frequencies of the seven polymorphic loci substantiated the presence of S. formosa. Ecological and phenological phenomena further separate the three species. A distribution map of the populations analyzed, populations observed, and populations represented in herbarium specimens indicates that the ranges of the three species are separate although sympatry does occur. Thus, the morphological form described and designated S. formosa by Buckley in 1862 is a separate species.