A morphological reexamination on the genus Adonis L. sensu lato (Ranunculaceae) in Korea

Abstract

The morphology of plants and scanning electro-microscopical features of fruits were examined to evaluate the taxonomic entities of Korean Adonis L. in sensu lato (Ranunculaceae). The species of Korean Adonis were readily diagnosed by the branching pattern of stem, the number of flowers, the bifurcation of leaf main axis, the number of tepals, the flowering periods in relation to leaf sprouting, and the number of stomata and the texture of fruit surface. This study demonstrates that there are three species, A. amurensis, A. pseudoamurensis, and A. multiflora., found in Korea. However, A. ramosa, which has been often claimed to be distributed in Korea, is not present in Korea.