ON “NUMERICAL CHEMOTAXONOMY”

Abstract

Summary The use of chemical characteristics in plant taxonomy is briefly surveyed. Some types of numerical treatment of variation in chromatographically separated substances are discussed. The usefulness of such methods is shown to be more restricted than is often claimed. The use of certain index values to illustrate differences between taxa or affinities between them is criticized from a biological point of view. An alternative possibility of the use of variation in chromatographically obtained data is suggested. A modified analysis of variance makes it possible to study population structures and genetical systems within one taxon at a time. Variation arising from irregularities in chromatographical separation, chance, etc., can also be estimated by this method.