A numerical taxonomic study of Armeria maritima (Plumbaginaceae) in North America and Greenland

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (10) ◽  
pp. 1583-1595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claude Lefèbvre ◽  
Xavier Vekemans

Principal components analysis, discriminant analysis, cluster analysis and two level nested analysis of variance were performed on 961 herbarium specimens of Armeria maritima covering the complete geographic range of the species in North America and Greenland. Among the monomorphic, self-compatible specimens combining coarsely reticulate pollen and papillous stigma, we recognized three subspecies. Along the Pacific coast from California to Vancouver Island, the single taxon ssp. californica is proposed, which includes the formerly described var. purpurea. In arctic and subarctic regions, ssp. sibirica, which includes var. labradorica, and ssp. interior are recognized as distinct entities. The latter has a restricted distribution and can be easily distinguished morphologically owing to its glabrous calyces. The morphological variation between ssp. californica and ssp. sibirica is continuous and some overlap occurs. The best diagnostic characters are two ratios: sheath length to flower head width and outer involucral bract length to flower head width. Geographic trends are obvious: a reduction in plant size with increasing latitude and an increase in frequency from west to east of hairy scapes and holotrichous calyces. The dimorphic and self-incompatible ssp. maritima is maintained because of its distinct breeding system (papillate stigma associated with finely reticulate pollen and smooth stigma associated with coarsely reticulate pollen). Subspecies maritima is only found in south Greenland and some specimens are morphologically similar to eastern monomorphic plants. Key words: Armeria maritima, North America, numerical taxonomy.

1959 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald A. Mulligan ◽  
I. John Bassett

The chromosome numbers of plants of the Achillea millefolium complex from 27 locations in North America are reported. The levels of polyploidy found are correlated with diameters of the pollen grains. Measurements of pollen grains from more than 300 herbarium specimens are used as an indication of the occurrence of tetraploid and hexaploid species of Achillea in Canada. The results of some crossing experiments are also reported. It is concluded that the common Achillea of North America is tetraploid and is the native A. lanulosa Nutt. It extends from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts, as far south as California in the west and Pennsylvania in the east, and to northern Canada and Alaska. Another native species, hexaploid Achillea borealis Bong., extends along the Pacific coast from southern California to the Aleutian Islands and along the northern shorelines of Alaska and Canada. A Eurasiatic hexaploid, A. millefolium L. s. str., has been sparingly introduced into Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and perhaps elsewhere along the Atlantic seaboard. In eastern Canada a male-sterile purple-flowered hexaploid also occurs. This hexaploid escapes from cultivation and forms localized patches. It undoubtedly has been selected from the Eurasiatic A. millefolium L. s str.


2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.K. Madsen ◽  
D.J. Thorkelson ◽  
R.M. Friedman ◽  
D.D. Marshall

Geosphere, February 2006, v. 2, p. 11-34, doi: 10.1130/GES00020.1. Movie 1 - Tectonic model for the Pacific Basin and northwestern North America from 53 Ma to 39 Ma. The file size is 1.3 MB.


2004 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Dean A. Glawe

Chinese matrimony-vine (Lycium chinense Mill.) is a traditional medicinal plant grown in China and used as a perennial landscape plant in North America. This report documents the presence of powdery mildew on L. chinense in the Pacific Northwest and describes and illustrates morphological features of the causal agent. It appears to be the first report of a powdery mildew caused by Arthrocladiella in the Pacific Northwest. Accepted for publication 10 November 2004. Published 8 December 2004.


2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 1732-1747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Roberge ◽  
John R. Gyakum ◽  
Eyad H. Atallah

Abstract Significant cool season precipitation along the western coast of North America is often associated with intense water vapor transport (IWVT) from the Pacific Ocean during favorable synoptic-scale flow regimes. These relatively narrow and intense regions of water vapor transport can originate in either the tropical or subtropical oceans, and sometimes have been referred to as Pineapple Express events in previous literature when originating near Hawaii. However, the focus of this paper will be on diagnosing the synoptic-scale signatures of all significant water vapor transport events associated with poleward moisture transport impacting the western coast of Canada, regardless of the exact points of origin of the associated atmospheric river. A trajectory analysis is used to partition the events as a means of creating coherent and meaningful synoptic-scale composites. The results indicate that these IWVT events can be clustered by the general area of origin of the majority of the saturated parcels impacting British Columbia and the Yukon Territories. IWVT events associated with more zonal trajectories are characterized by a strong and mature Aleutian low, whereas IWVT events associated with more meridional trajectories are often characterized by an anticyclone situated along the California or Oregon coastline, and a relatively mature poleward-traveling cyclone, commonly originating in the central North Pacific.


1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark P. Widrlechner

Through a review of floristic and taxonomic literature and an examination of over 1500 herbarium specimens, this report documents the rapid spread of Chaenorrhinum minus (L.) Lange along railroads across North America. The relationship between C. minus and railroads is described and phenological data on flowering and fruiting are presented. The combination of an effective dispersal mechanism and the rapid onset of reproductive maturity contributes to the species' adaptive success.


1995 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian F. Atwater ◽  
Alan R. Nelson ◽  
John J. Clague ◽  
Gary A. Carver ◽  
David K. Yamaguchi ◽  
...  

Earthquakes in the past few thousand years have left signs of land-level change, tsunamis, and shaking along the Pacific coast at the Cascadia subduction zone. Sudden lowering of land accounts for many of the buried marsh and forest soils at estuaries between southern British Columbia and northern California. Sand layers on some of these soils imply that tsunamis were triggered by some of the events that lowered the land. Liquefaction features show that inland shaking accompanied sudden coastal subsidence at the Washington-Oregon border about 300 years ago. The combined evidence for subsidence, tsunamis, and shaking shows that earthquakes of magnitude 8 or larger have occurred on the boundary between the overriding North America plate and the downgoing Juan de Fuca and Gorda plates. Intervals between the earthquakes are poorly known because of uncertainties about the number and ages of the earthquakes. Current estimates for individual intervals at specific coastal sites range from a few centuries to about one thousand years.


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