RAPD analysis and taxonomic reconsideration of the Ceropegia aristolochioides complex (Apocynaceae-Ceropegieae)

Flower morphology, karyology and taxonomy of the polymorphic Ceropegia aristolochioides are reviewed. Ten different samples from Africa and Arabia, representing the main morphotypes, were analysed using RAPDs. The dendrogram resulting from cluster analysis is compared with the current taxonomy. Only two subspecies within C aristolochioides should be recognized, despite considerable differences in floral morphology within both. It is proposed to confine the typical subspecies to tropical Africa and to consider C. aristolochioides ssp. albertina and Ceropegia seticorona as synonyms. C. aristolochioides ssp. deflersiana, easily distinguished by hairy carpels, is restricted to the SW Arabian Peninsula. The formal recognition of varieties within each subspecies, which might be considered with regard to the highly diverse flower morphology, is rejected.