Dissertation Research: A Systematic Study of Sabal (Arecaceae: Coryphoideae)

在Rancho Santa Ana植物园的Sherwin Carlquist博士的指导下，Scott Zona先生将在墨西哥和西印度群岛广泛采集Sabal棕榈树，以确定物种之间形态和化学变异的模式，并构建一个关于该群体进化历史的假设。收集大型棕榈树的困难阻碍了大多数植物学家对它们的研究。将现代分类学方法应用于新采集的野外资料，将大大提高我们对这些植物的生物学和进化的认识。新性状的鉴定将采用现代技术，包括叶片表面和花粉的扫描电子显微镜、叶片结构的解剖研究和植物色素的化学分析。将观察种子的传播（无论是通过动物还是通过水流）和授粉（无论是通过棕榈树特有的昆虫、普通昆虫还是通过风）。提高对该属约21种植物的分类学认识，将有助于分析加勒比地区的进化关系和物种形成的生物地理历史。

Mr. Scott Zona, under the supervision of Dr. Sherwin Carlquist of the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, will undertake extensive field-collecting of Sabal palms throughout Mexico and the West Indies, to determine patterns of morphological and chemical variability among the species and construct an hypothe- sis about the evolutionary history of the group. Difficulties in collecting large palms have deterred most botanists from studying them. Modern taxonomic methods, applied to newly collected field materials, will improve substantially our understanding of the biology and evolution of these plants. New characters will be assessed with modern techniques of scanning electron microscopy of leaf surfaces and pollen, anatomical investigation of leaf structure, and chemical analysis of plant pigments. Observations will be made of seed dispersal (whether by animals or by water currents) and of pollination (whether by palm-specific insects, by generalist insects, or by wind). Improved taxonomic understanding of the ca. 21 species in this genus will facilitate analysis of evolutionary relationships and of the biogeographic history of speciation in the Caribbean region.