Taxonomic Reevaluation of the Polylepis sericea Complex (Rosaceae), with the Description of a New Species

This dataset contains the digitized treatments in Plazi based on the original journal article Espinoza, Tatiana Erika Boza, Quispe-Melgar, Harold R., Kessler, Michael (2019): Taxonomic Reevaluation of the Polylepis sericea Complex (Rosaceae), with the Description of a New Species. Systematic Botany (Basel, Switzerland) 44 (2): 324-334, DOI: 10.1600/036364419X15562052252225, URL: doi.org/10.1600/036364419x15562052252225 Abstract —The taxonomically difficult genus Polylepis (Rosaceae) contains several problematic species complexes, including one around P. sericea.

We here reevaluate species boundaries in this complex based on morphological characters and climatic niches. We recognize five species within the P. sericea complex, based primarily on leaf characters: P. albicans (northwestern Peru), P. argentea (central Peru) described here, P. canoi (southeastern Peru to central Bolivia), P. ochreata (Ecuador to southernmost Colombia), and P. sericea (Venezuela to central Colombia).