Cytotaxonomy of the Festuca spp. from Patagonia

Chromosome number and karyotypes of Festuca argentina (2n = 28), Festuca magellanica (2n = 42 and 2n = 56), and Festuca purpurascens (2n = 42) are described here for the first time, as well as new data on the karyotype of Festuca contracta (2n = 42). Multivariate analysis based on chromosome size and shape showed significant (p < 0.05) differences among these species but not among the populations of F. magellanica analyzed. The correlation between a distance matrix among all the Patagonian species based on nine karyotype parameters and one based on morphoreproductive characters was significant (r = 0.60, p < 0.01) but it was not significant when compared with vegetative characters (r = 0.25, p > 0.05). The morphoreproductive and cytological data supported the classification of the Patagonian species in four different subgenera reflecting that the Patagonian Festuca spp. had different phylogenetic origins.