EVIDENCE FOR CONSPECIFICITY OF PIPER-METHYSTICUM FORST F AND PIPER-WICHMANNII C-DC

Morphological, chemical, cytological and genetic evidence demonstratin g the absence of taxonomic distinction between Piper methysticum and P iper wichmannii are reviewed. Piper methysticum is not a separate spec ies, but rather a group of sterile cultivars selected from somatic mut ants of P. wichmannii. As P. methysticum was described first (1786), i t has priority and P wichmannii (1910) is superfluous. A new subspecif ic classification is suggested that makes a distinction between the st erile cultivars (P. methysticum var. methysticum) and the wild populat ions (P. methysticum var. Wichmannii). Copyright (C) 1996 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd