BECK, JAMES B.1, ROBERT F. C. NACZI2*, and PATRICK J. CALIE3. 1Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130; 2Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY 41099; 3Department of Biological Sciences, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY 40475. - Morphometrics of Solidago shortii, an endangered goldenrod from Kentucky (Asteraceae).
Solidago shortii (Asteraceae), Short's Goldenrod, is an
endangered species presently known from a series of closely clustered
subpopulations in the vicinity of Blue Licks, Kentucky. Short's
Goldenrod was first discovered and described from a now-extirpated
population at the Falls of the Ohio River, Kentucky. Our goals are to
test two hypotheses: 1) Short's Goldenrod is morphologically distinct
from other goldenrod species and 2) specimens from the extant Blue
Licks populations are taxonomically identical with the extirpated
Falls of the Ohio plants. We tested these hypotheses with a
combination of field and herbarium approaches. Principal Components
Analysis and Discriminant Function Analysis of measurements of 19
vegetative and reproductive characters of Short's Goldenrod and
selected congeners reveal a suite of diagnostic characters for Short's
Goldenrod. All specimens from both Blue Licks and Falls of the Ohio
share these traits and thus appear taxonomically identical.
Key words: Asteraceae, endangered species, Kentucky, Solidago shortii