2nd Annual Academic Symposium - Krystal Piotrowski

Viola chamissoniana and Viola tracheliifolia are two closely related violets endemic to Hawaii.

Viola tracheliifolia is paraphyletic with respect to Viola chamissoniana. The goal of this research was to compare the floral morphological similarities between the different populations of the two species throughout the Hawaiian Islands. The violets were collected throughout 2010. The floral specimens were dissected, mounted, and measured. Differences between populations and species were investigated with Canonical Variates and Hierarchical Clustering analyses. Both the canonical variates analysis and the UPGMA dendrogram show a separation between the two species except for several individuals of Viola chamissoniana collected from populations where both violets are found. The canonical variates analysis shows that the posterior petal lengths contribute to the separation of Viola tracheliifolia and Viola chamissoniana.

Convergence in morphologies could have arisen due to hybridization in areas where these two violet species grow close together.