Taxonomic revision of Vaccinium myrtillus (Ericaceae)
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.17348/jbrit.v20.i3.1486Mots-clés :
bilberry, Eurasia, Japan, new species, North America, plant taxonomy, VacciniumRésumé
Vaccinium myrtillus has commonly been recognized as encompassing plants from Eurasia, Japan, and North America. Published molecularbased phylogenetic data, however, suggest that V. myrtillus is not monophyletic and might best be divided into distinct taxonomic entities. I examined herbarium specimens collected from throughout the range of V. myrtillus s.l., finding morphological characters that serve to justify the division of V. myrtillus into such entities. On this basis, I present a taxonomic revision of V. myrtillus that recognizes three species and includes a key, descriptions, and representative specimens examined. Vaccinium oreophilum has been the name applied to the North American component of the group, as either a distinct species or a synonym of V. myrtillus. I found that none of the original material referenced in the protologue of V. oreophilum is included in the circumscription of the North American element, and that no other name applies to these plants. I therefore provide a species name for the North American entity, V. americanum, and designate a holotype. The other two species are V. myrtillus s.s., which spans much of northern Eurasia, and the Japanese endemic V. yatabei.
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