Integrating leaf morphological traits and DNA barcoding for the identification of Aporosa cardiosperma and Aporosa lanceolata in Sri Lanka

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E-ISSN: 2229-4473.
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DOI: 10.1007/s42535-026-01714-7
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Keywords: n Aporosa cardiosperman , n Aporosa lanceolatan , Endemic, Phenogram, Phylogenetic tree


Abstract

Taxonomically complicated species exist within the genus Aporosa (Phyllanthaceae), found throughout tropical Asia and containing numerous endemic species in Sri Lanka. Similarities in morphology and overlapping vernacular names caused confusion in identification, especially among medicinal plant materials. In this study, attempts were made to investigate species boundaries of certain Sri Lankan Aporosa specimens using leaf morphometric and ITS DNA barcoding techniques. Specimens of six individuals were used in this study, where the morphological classification of two specimens were identified as Aporosa cardiosperma (Ac) and Aporosa lanceolata (Al) and other four remained unidentified (MT1–MT4). Phenetic clustering was performed based on 15 leaf morphological features, resulting in three distinct clusters. While phylogenetic tree constructed based on ITS sequence data clearly indicated that all the studied samples appeared to be related to Aporosa villosa, A. dioica, and A. yunnanensis, although none of these species provided a clear grouping. The results indicate that the Sri Lankan specimens may belong to an unresolved Aporosa species complex or represent lineages for which reference sequences are currently unavailable in public databases. The findings highlight limitations of single-locus barcoding and suggest that current public databases lack sufficient reference sequences for Sri Lankan taxa. The study emphasizes the need for multilocus approaches and expanded reference datasets for accurate species delimitation in Aporosa.

n Aporosa cardiosperman , n Aporosa lanceolatan , Endemic, Phenogram, Phylogenetic tree


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Author Information

Department of Plant and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Kelaniya, Sri Lanka