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Date of Award

Spring 2006

Document Type

Restricted Thesis: Campus only access

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Department

Biology

First Advisor

Dr. W. John Hayden

Abstract

A floristic treatment was prepared for the species Acalypha found in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, as a contribution to two ongoing flora projects for the region. Original descriptions, published when each species was first named as new to science, were obtained through interlibrary loan requests. Specimens were requested from herbaria with significant holdings of Yucatan material. Loans were sorted by species and morphological features were recorded for all specimens of each species. During this study phase, hypotheses concerning morphological variation and species limits were repeatedly created, tested, and rejected or accepted. Some of the most useful characters in distinguishing species include: overall habit; leaf size, shape, and pubescence; stipule morphology; pistillate inflorescence architecture; presence/absence and form of allomorphic flowers. Next, results of morphological study were synthesized through the drafting of concise descriptions for each species. Some previously named entities are best reduced to synonymy. For example, A. unibracteata Muell. Arg. and A. seleriana Greenm. should be included within A. leptopoda Muell. Arg. Similarly, A. flagellata Millsp. proves not to be distinct from A. villosa Jacq. Currently available evidence supports the recognition of ten native and two cultivated species of Acalypha for Yucatan.

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