Numerical analysis based on morphological and histological characters of some medicinally important plants of the tribe Marsdenieae (Asclepiadaceae).

摘要

Numerical analysis (correspondence analysis, ascending hierarchical classification, cladistic approach) were applied to the morphological and anatomical characters of medicinally important plants of the tribe Marsdenieae (Asclepiadaceae) such as Gymnema sylvestre (Retz.) R. Br., Bidaria khandalense (Santapau) Jagtap and Singh, Tylophora indica (Burm. f.) Merr., Tylophora dalzellii Hook. f. and Wattakaka volubilis (L. f.) Stap. Five Operational Taxonomic Units (OTU's) belonging to the four genera of the tribe Marsdenieae were examined and scored for ninety qualitative characters having two or more states. The results of single linkage clustering method were compared with the classification obtained by conventional methods and the relations among the taxa have been discussed. The results of this study indicated that five species are divided into three groups in which G. sylvestre and B. khandalense lie in one group, T. indica and T. dalzellii lie in the second group while W. volubilis forms the third group. Thus, the results of the present investigation revealed that Bidaria can be treated as a section of Gymnema and not as a separate genus Bidaria.