Chromosome number, karyotype, and taxonomic considerations on the enigmatic Sellocharis paradoxa Taubert (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae, Genisteae)

Abstract

Until recently, Sellocharis paradoxa Taubert, the only species of this Genisteae genus, was known solely by the isotypes. Recent new collections in Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, have enabled data on chromosome number and karyotype morphology to be obtained for the first time. S. paradoxa has 2n = 20 chromosomes, and a bimodal asymmetrical karyotype, composed of one pair of long (c. 6.3 μm) metacentric, five pairs of shorter acrocentric, and four pairs of shorter telocentric chromosomes ranging from c. 3.7 to 2.7 μm. The chromosome number and karyotype morphology of S. paradoxa do not fit into the Genisteae pattern. Existing information is so far insufficient to answer evolutionary questions about its origin and phylogenetic relationships, but the uniqueness of this taxon, first indicated by its peculiar leaf arrangement, and now supported by its uncommon karyological constitution, strongly suggests that the suprageneric taxonomic position of S. paradoxa should be re-evaluated. © 2007 The Linnean Society of London.