Morphological and isozyme divergence in Korean Hepatica sensu stricto (Ranunculaceae)

Abstract

Morphological and electrophoretic data were studied to examine species delimitation, patterns of morphological and genetic variation in three Korean Hepatica including two endemics, H. maxima and H. insularis. Based on a phenogram using 15 morphological characters, taxa were distinct; it was consistent with the phenogram based on genetic distance. In the enzyme electrophoresis study, the genetic identities suggested that three taxa were genetically divergent enough to be recognized as different species, falling within the range expected for congeners. The genetic identity between H. asiatica and H. insularis was higher than the values between these two taxa and H. maxima, a restricted endemic of Ulleung Island. The least genetic variation was found in H. maxima and the greatest in widespread H. asiatica. These data are consistent with theoretical expectations that small populations are more likely to be genetically depauperate.