Wake Atoll is an isolated chain of three islets located in the Western Pacific. Included in its endemic flora is a representative of the genus Gossypium colloquially referred to as Wake Island cotton. Stanley G. Stephens pointed out that “Wake Island cotton does not resemble closely either the Caribbean or other Pacific forms.” Taking into consideration morphological distinctions, the geographic isolation of Wake Atoll, and newly generated molecular data presented here, we conclude that the cottons of Wake Atoll do in fact represent a new species of Gossypium, here named Gossypium stephensii. This name is chosen to commemorate the eminent natural historian, evolutionary geneticist, and cotton biologist, S. G. Stephens.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 March 2017
A New Species of Cotton from Wake Atoll, Gossypium stephensii (Malvaceae)
Joseph P. Gallagher,
Corrinne E. Grover,
Kristen Rex,
Matthew Moran,
Jonathan F. Wendel
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
Systematic Botany
Vol. 42 • No. 1
Jan-Mar 2017
Vol. 42 • No. 1
Jan-Mar 2017
chloroplast DNA
Pacific Ocean
phylogeny
targeted sequence capture
taxonomy