A numerical taxonomic approach to the study of angiosperm leaves

Abstract

Dolph proposed data banking of angiosperm leaf information. For a data bank to function satisfactorily, the scored character set must be suitable for statistical testing. Such a character set, based on a ratio scale, was compiled from various sources Using 100 leaves from 20 species, the numerical taxonomic methods clearly clustered the leaves into their species. Several factors, such as character number, character correlation, missing data, and sample size, and their effect on the classification were considered. To increase the accuracy of character scoring, a method to determine vein orders was devised. Binary data were also considered, and a strategy to describe fossil floras is presented