A Morphometric Analysis of the Cyperus squarrosus-Cyperus granitophilus Complex in North America, with the Description of a New Variety of Cyperus squarrosus

Morphometric data were used to investigate the relationship between Cyperus squarrosus and related C. granitophilus, with particular attention to populations of C. granitophilus recently reported from granite outcrops in Texas and Oklahoma. Data for 23 characters (variables) taken from 406 voucher specimens were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA), discriminate analysis (DA), multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and a Euclidian distance dendrogram. Results (1) strongly support the treatment of C. granitophilus and C. squarrosus as separate species but (2) provide at best weak evidence for formal recognition of C. squarrosus var. runyonii and (3) indicate that the Texas and Oklahoma populations recently reported as C. granitophilus are more closely related to C. squarrosus than C. granitophilus.