V. Lebot et J. Levesque, EVIDENCE FOR CONSPECIFICITY OF PIPER-METHYSTICUM FORST F AND PIPER-WICHMANNII C-DC, Biochemical systematics and ecology, 24(7-8), 1996, pp. 775-782
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