COMPARISON OF ISOZYMES AMONG TYPHA SPECIES IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES

Abstract

Biochemical phenotsypes of four taxa of Typha from the eastern United States were determined by starch gel electrophoresis. The isozyme banding patterns of T. latifolia, T. angustifolia and T. domingensis are distinct and allow unambiguous species identification when morphological characters are inadequate or unsuitable. The fourth form, T. glauca , is not an F 1 hybrid, but it does appear to be intermediate between T. latifolia and T. angustifolia . The status of T. glauca and evolutionary relationships among the four forms may now be clarified by additional sampling because of the distinct and relatively invariant isozyme banding patterns which are described.