Dissertation Research: Biosystematic Studies of the Penstemon kingii Group (Scrophulariaceae)

研究生卡尔·文森特（Karl Vincent）在纽约植物园和纽约城市大学的指导老师诺埃尔·霍姆格伦（Noel Holmgren）博士的指导下，计划对美国西部约10种pentstemon属植物的形态、染色体构成、类黄酮化学和授粉关系进行全面研究。新的形态特征将用扫描电镜研究；这些特征将与化学和染色体特征相结合，以建立一个可靠的分类，并确定进化关系。实地研究将测试特定传粉昆虫（蜜蜂、黄蜂和苍蝇）与不同物种的特定花形态之间的联系。该项目的结果将包括改进这些植物的分类，并深入了解花形的适应性进化。

Graduate student Karl Vincent, under the supervision of faculty adviser Dr. Noel Holmgren of the New York Botanical Garden and City University of New York, plans a comprehensive study of the morphology, chromosome constitution, flavonoid chemistry, and pollination relationships of an estimated ten species of the genus Penstemon in western United States. New morphological features will be studied using scanning electron microscopy; these characters will be intergrated with chemical and chromosomal ones to construct a reliable classification of the group and determine evolutionary relationships. Field studies will test the association of particular pollinating insects (bees, wasps, and flies) with particular floral forms in the different species. Results of the project will include an improved taxonomy of these plants and insight into the adaptive evolution of floral form.