6801 Chamaepericlymenum Hill
- Hill, Brit. Herb.: 331 (1756).
Notes: Elven and Murray: Bain and Denford (1979) found that the variation in Chamaepericlymenum in northwestern North America could be divided on two diploids (by us as C. canadense and C. suecicum), a diploid hybrid between them, and a morphologically intermediate and fertile tetraploid to which they convincingly connected the name Cornus unalaschkensis (Chamaepericlymenum unalaschkense). Chamaepericlymenum unalaschkense is supported in their investigation as an allotetraploid species. It has a wide range, is evidently fertile (regular fruit production), and parts of its range is far outside the current contact zone of the presumed parents. The diploid hybrid is not reproductively independent and we do not accept it as a taxon.
Löve and Löve (1975a) assigned the chromosome number reports available at their time in another and erroneous way. They assigned reports of diploids to C. suecicum and C. unalaschkense, those of tetraploids to C. canadense (Bain and Denford mis-cited this information). This means that the reports the Löves assigned to C. canadense probably belong to C. unalaschkense, whereas the reports they assigned to C. unalaschkense may belong either to the diploid hybrid or to C. canadense. It is not probable that they studied any types before they applied names or any vouchers before they assigned reports. All the original sources and vouchers must be checked before any entry of Chamaepericlymenum in the Löve lists can be trusted.
Higher Taxa
- Cornaceae [68,family]