• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.251-270
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• 2008

Members of the genus Asarum of Korea were reviewed taxonomically, and classified into seven species. Among them, four species - A. koreanum, A. maculatum, A. patens and A. versicolor - were recorded as Korean endemics. The most valuable taxonomic characters in identifying the Asarum taxa were shape, size and color of the calyx tube and lobe. In addition, the presence of white spots on the adaxial surface, size and color of leaf, presence of trichome, shape and size of the stylar protuberance and thickness of the calyx lobe were also important characters. Keys to the species including descriptions and figures of floral structures of each taxon were provided here for the accurate identification of each species.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.121-149
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• 2008

Taxonomic treatment and the identification key for 6 species and 4 varieties from the genus Asarum (Aristolochiaceae) in Korea were presented on the basis of the morphological analyses. Recently the taxonomy of the genus Asarum in Korea is controversial in the definition of species and the establishment of variation range. Our morphological studies supported that the species A. patens, A. misandrum and A. versicolor should be recognized as independent species by the unique morphological characters such as calyx lobes, stylar protuberance and leaf variegation. Second, A. sieboldii var. cornutum, A. koreanum, A. maculatum and A. sonunsanense, regarded as species or variety by different scholars, showed a close relationship with A. sieboldii by the similar calyx characters. Thus, new combinations, such as A. sieboldii for. cornutum, A. sieboldii for. koreanum, A. sieboldii for. maculatum and A. sieboldii for. sonunsanense, are proposed. And A. heterotropoides var. seoulense and A. heterotropoides var. mandshuricum also had a close relationship, thus, new combinations, A. mandshuricum for. seoulense, A. mandshuricum for. mandshuricum, are proposed. Furthermore, it is appropriate that A. heterotropoides var. heterotropoides, only distributed in Japan, is revised into A. heterotropoides as independent species by the unique character from the 2 varieties above. Consequently, the genus Asarum in Korea is classified into 3 species and 7 forma.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.344-354
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• 2019

In seven species of Korean Asarum, 44 qualitative and 28 quantitative characters were reviewed taxonomically. Among 44 qualitative characters observed in vegetative and reproductive organs, the states of 27 characters were common in all the seven species. Among 28 quantitative characters, five characters have the same values in all the seven species; the number of cataphyll (2-4), leaf (2), calyx lobe (5), stamen (12) and pistil (6). White spots on adaxial surface of leaf (effectively) distinguished A. maculatum and A. versicolor from the other species. Many long soft hairs on abaxial surface of leaf distinguished A. mandshuricum from other species with short hairs. The glandular hairs on inner surface of calyx tube were divided into 2 types, reflecting the taxonomic relationships between the species: Type 1 has non-stalked glandular hairs (A. maculatum, A. sieboldii and A. sp.), and Type 2 has stalked glandular hairs (A. patens, A. versicolor, A. mandshuricum and A. misandrum). The length, shape, colour of calyx lobe and the extent to which the calyx lobe recurves, as well as the diameter and colour of calyx tube throat, were confirmed to be taxonomically valuable. In the case of glandular hair density on the surface of calyx lobe, A. patens with low density and A. sp. with high density were clearly distinct from all the other species with intermediate hair density. Meanwhile, the stylar protuberance length of A. patens (2.9-3.3 mm) was strikingly different from other species (1.4-2.5 mm). Additionally, further examination of the identities of A. yeonbyeonense and A. yeonbyeonense var. viridiluteolum is required.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.1697-1703
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• 2010

Asarum consists of low-growing herbs and is a genus in the Aristolochiaceae family with species found in the north temperate zones with most species in Asia. We evaluated the nine taxa with the trnL - trnT region of the chloroplast genome to estimate phenotypic relationships within genus Asarum in Korea. Alignment of the DNA sequences required the addition of numerous gaps. Sequence variation within the Asarum was mostly due to nucleotide inserts/deletions, although several indels and inserts were found. Another source of sequence divergence was length variation due to stretches of short repeats that occur at the trnL - trnT region in all the Asarum. A + T content for nine Korean species of genus Asarum ranged between 74.7% and 78.3%. These values were higher than those for the angiosperm alignments of the total trnL and trnT region (64.5~67.1%). Within genus Asarum, A. patens was strikingly different from the others in the three phylogenetic analyses (MP, ML, and NJ). However, some internal nodes were poorly supported. Within Korean Asarum, four species were unsolved portions. Possible reasons for the striking non-congruence between the previous morphological traits and the trnL - trnT based on phylogeny were discussed.