The genus Capsicum: a multidisciplinay approach to the taxonomy of cultivated and wild plants

The genus Capsicum: a multidisciplinay approach to the taxonomy of cultivated and wild plants

1988

REP.PP-0303

In Capsicum, as in other cultivated plants, morphological characters influenced by human selection are not reliable for delimiting species. Cryptic characters such as chromosomal structure or isozyme phenotype should also not be used explicitly in classification but, where correlated with morphological differences, may help to validate morphologically-defined taxa. Data from chromosomes and isozymes have improved our understanding of evolution in domesticated and wild chili peppers, but features of this evolution cannot readily be incorporated into a formal taxonomy using existing infraspecific categories. Categories not yet sanctioned by the relevant nomenclatural codes could be used, but the salient features of evolution and differentiation in Capsicum can also be expressed adequately in an informal vernacular classification. [AS]

v.107:381-389, BIOLOGISCHES ZENTRALBLATT

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