REVSYS: Systematics of Amelanchier (Rosaceae)

Aelanchier包含北温带约20种乔木和灌木。这些植物开着诱人的花，它们的果实对野生动物很重要，它们在园艺上很有价值。这些植物通常被称为树荫灌木和草莓，原产于美国除夏威夷以外的每一个州。由于杂交是频繁的，而且通过杂交产生的新种类的植物可以广泛分布，所以定义阿梅兰契尔的物种一直是一个挑战。树荫的一些形式很容易区分，而另一些形式则在细微的方面有所不同。这项研究的目的是根据广泛的野外和实验室数据确定该属的物种。这项研究将为一类重要的生态植物提供一个新的物种分类。研究结果将在科学文献和我们的网站(http://biology.umaine.edu/Amelanchier/))上传播，供植物学家、园艺学家、野生动物生态学家、保护生物学家、土地利用管理者和其他人使用。对本科生和研究生进行植物系统学(分类)方面的培训对于保持我们理解和交流植物物种的能力是至关重要的。这项研究将通过研讨会提供推广，让K-12教师为他们的学生提供授粉生物学练习。

Amelanchier contains about 20 species of trees and shrubs of the North Temperate Zone. These plants bear attractive flowers, their fruits are important to wildlife, and they are valued horticulturally. Shadbushes and serviceberries, as these plants are commonly called, are native to every state of the United States except Hawaii. It has been a challenge to define the species of Amelanchier because hybridization is frequent, and novel kinds of plants created by hybridization can be widely dispersed. Some forms of shadbushes are easy to distinguish while others differ from one another in minute ways. The goal of this research is to define species in this genus based on extensive field and laboratory data. This research will provide a new classification of species in an ecologically important group of plants. Results will be disseminated in the scientific literature and on our web site (http://biology.umaine.edu/Amelanchier/) for botanists, horticulturists, wildlife ecologists, conservation biologists, land-use managers, and others. Training of undergraduate and graduate students in plant systematics (classification) is essential to maintaining our capacity to understand and communicate about plant species. This research will provide outreach through workshops to give K-12 teachers exercises in pollination biology for their students.