Chemotaxonomic studies on Dryopteris from Quebec and eastern North America

Chromatographic analyses of the phloroglucinol derivatives in 213 collections of Dryopteris from eastern North America and particularly Quebec were made. The taxa studied were two diploid species, D. assimilis S. Walker and D. intermedia (Muhl.) A. Gray; two tetraploids, D. spinulosa Watt and D. campyloptera Clarkson; the triploid hybrid, D. × triploidea Wherry; all in the D. spinulosa complex. Also studied were the tetraploid species D. cristata (L.) Gray, the triploid hybrid, D. × boollii (Tuckerm.) Underwood, the tetraploid species, D. filix-mas (L.) Schott, and the diploid D. marginalis (L.) A. Gray. Both glandular and glabrous specimens of D. assimilis and D. campyloptera were studied, but it was found that these characteristics were not necessarily correlated with the presence or absence of phloroglucinols. Dryopteris campyloptera consists of plants which may be "phloroglucinol rich" or "phloroglucinol poor," while D. assimilis and D. spinulosa are both low in phloroglucinol content as compared to European plants. The geographical ranges of the species is briefly considered and the chemical uniformity of some taxa and the variability of others is discussed.