Graduate student Ms. Jun Wen, under the faculty guidance of Dr. Tod Stuessy of Ohio State University, will prepare a modern taxonomic treatment of the estimated 35 species of the flowering plant genus Aralia. The species occur throughout North America and in eastern Asia, and present an interesting problem in historical biogeography. New data on morphology and anatomy will be acquired from herbarium specimens and from new collections to be made in China; field work has already been completed in Mexico and in the United States by the student. In addition, chromosome analyses and floral-morphological data will be used to test relationships with associated genera such as Pentapanax and Sciadodendron. A revised taxonomy of the genus, providing consistent delimitation of all species and reliable identification keys, mapping geographic distributions, and summarizing knowledge of ecology and of reproductive biology, will help further understanding of a widespread pattern of disjunct plant distribution in the northern hemisphere.
