Differentiating Thamnocalamus Munro from Fargesia Franchet emend. Yi (Bambusoideae, Poaceae): novel evidence from morphological and neural-network analyses

Abstract

Fargesia Franchet emend. Yi is closely allied with Thamnocalamus Munro but differs in many major morphological characteristics. Based on traditional morphological characters, it is difficult to differentiate these two genera. The current study measured 19 species in these two genera to determine whether variations in 12 categories of major characters are continuous. In addition, a self-organizing map (SOM) and cluster analysis were used together to reveal whether the known species of Fargesia represent discontinuous sampling of Thamnocalamus. The results show that 46 morphological characteristics exhibited high variation at the generic and species levels. In addition, the cluster analysis showed that 32 morphological characteristics of Thamnocalamus and Fargesia were divided between two species and well separated from the outgroup. Additionally, significant differences (P < 0.01) were observed in the reproductive structures between these two genera. The unrooted dendrogram, which was based on the SOM neural network, shows the same results as the cluster analysis of morphological characteristics. These data indicate that Fargesia is not a result of discontinuous sampling of Thamnocalamus; thus, Fargesia should not be treated as a synonym for Thamnocalamus.

Benefits of A Three-Day Bamboo Forest Therapy Session on the Psychophysiology and Immune System Responses of Male College Students

“…Bamboo is an important forest type in many countries, especially in East and Southeast Asia and in African countries. It is a versatile and important component of the ecology, culture, and economy of these countries [27,28]. Bamboo is a well-known and the most preferred plant in the Chinese landscape design due to its unique beautiful foliage and fast-growing characteristics.…”

Straight From the Plastome: Molecular Phylogeny and Morphological Evolution of Fargesia (Bambusoideae: Poaceae)

“…The isolated position of the Drepanostachyum + Himalayacalamus clade in the present study coincides well with the results from other studies that used nuclear genes (Hodkinson et al, 2010; Yang et al, 2013; Wang et al, 2017; Zhang et al, 2019) or plastid genes (Triplett and Clark, 2010; Zeng et al, 2010; Zhang et al, 2019). Furthermore, the morphology evidence (Keng, 1983; Ohrnberger, 1996; Li et al, 2006; Liu et al, 2017) supported F. damuniu, F. gyirongensis , and F. collaris should not be considered as Fargesia species.…”