The proposed research will explore the application of newly available morphometric methods to phylogenetically significant complex characters in plants. These methods rely both on landmark and outline data used in, for instance, thin plate spline, resistant fit, and eigenshape analyses, as well as on the fractal geometry of strange attractors. The characters examined as models are seed shape and testa patterns in Orchidaceae. These characters appear to have systematic significance, but quantification is essential to objective analysis. The characters have the potential to resolve difficult phylogenetic questions, as do similar characters in many botanical taxa, but without a quantitative methodology allowing them to be utilized consistently, their potential remains unrealized. New techniques will be evaluated in the context of more traditional characters already available as part of ongoing studies.
