Elaeagnus L. (Elaeagnaceae) is an important plant genus widely used in erosion control due to its high wind breaking and soil binding capacity, but also possessing medicinal and ornamental values. The phenotypic similarity of fruits and flowers of E. moorcroftii and E. angustifolia has often led researchers to speculate on their close relationship and they have sometimes been considered conspecific. In this study, 16 morphological characters were selected and assigned for cluster analysis which divided the samples (n = 49) into six groups: three of E. moorcroftii and three of E. angustifolia. Simple-sequence repeat (SSR) markers were used to discern the genetic diversity of the 49 individuals. Genetic diversity was found to be high (He = 288, I = 0.938) and there was a strong correlation between the morphological and SSR data. Thus, when combined, the phenotypic classification and SSR marker based evidence confirmed E. moorcroftii as a distinct species independent from E. angustifolia, a conclusion not in agreement with the treatment in recent floras.

中文翻译：

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基于形态相似性和简单序列重复标记的Elaeagnus moorcroftii与E. angustifolia (Elaeagnaceae)的分类关系

胡杨（Elaeagnaceae）是一种重要的植物属，具有较强的抗风和固土能力，广泛用于防治侵蚀，同时也具有药用和观赏价值。E. moorcroftii和E. angustifolia果实和花朵的表型相似性经常导致研究人员推测它们的密切关系，有时它们被认为是同种的。在这项研究中，选择并分配了 16 个形态特征进行聚类分析，将样本 (n = 49) 分为六组：三组E. moorcroftii和三组E. angustifolia. 使用简单序列重复 (SSR) 标记来辨别 49 个人的遗传多样性。遗传多样性被认为是高（H ^ E = 288，我 = 0.938），并有形态和SSR数据之间的强相关性。因此，当结合时，表型分类和基于 SSR 标记的证据证实E. moorcroftii是独立于E. angustifolia的独特物种，这一结论与最近菌群的处理不一致。