FESTUCA EDLUNDIAE (POACEAE), A HIGH ARCTIC, NEW SPECIES COMPARED ENZYMATICALLY AND MORPHOLOGICALLY WITH SIMILAR FESTUCA SPECIES

Distinct isozyme profiles initially discovered among a small collection of Festuca plants from Bathurst Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago, were further investigated. Isozyme and morphological data revealed a new tetraploid species Festuca edlundiae that is often associated with F. hypevborea. The species differ in having distinct isozyme profiles for at least Eve isozymes, and in the size and shape of the nag leaves, the size of spikelets, and the shape of the upper glumes. Plants with the isozyme profile of F. edlundine were collected from eight sites on five of the Queen Elizabeth Islands in 1992, and from Ellesmere Island in 1993. All sites are highly calcareous, with fine grained, mineral soils. A herbarium study found specimens from thirty other locations, including sites in northern Greenland and three from the former U.S.S.R. Morphological and isozyme characteristics used to distinguish F. edlundiae from F. baffinensis, F. brachyphylla, and F. hyperborea in the Canadian High Arctic are assessed, difficulties in identifying small plants and early season collections are documented, and a key to the four taxa, descriptions, and distribution maps are included.