Sturgill, B., E. Treadaway, S. Woolf, and C.K. McMullen. 2007. Morphological Characters and Systematics of Galápagos Cordia.

Presentation Abstract: Within the Galápagos Islands, the botanical family Boraginaceae is represented by as many as seven species from the genus Cordia. Current scientific thought suggests that four of those species are endemics: C. andersonii, C. leucophlyctis, C. revoluta, and C. scouleri. Three of these members are closely related to Andean species that are found in Columbia and Peru, while C. revoluta has no clear relationship with mainland relatives. The ancestors of all four endemic species, however, are thought to have arrived via long-distance dispersal by birds. Diagnostic keys that are currently available suggest that calyx and leaf pubescence should provide sufficient means of identification for three of the endemics, C. andersonii, C. leucophlyctis, and C. scouleri. However, previously conducted field studies and recent examination of specimens in the JMU herbarium have shown that these characters do not provide an adequate means of separation and subsequent identification of these species. Current studies are being focused on a broader spectrum of calyx, leaf, and stem morphological characters to determine if it is possible to produce a revised key that is both consistent and accurate in the identification of these species.