90 
SE Biology, Vol. 61, No. 1, January, 2014 
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Figure 8. Pictorialized scatter diagram using floral characteristics of Texas gulf 
coast rain-lilies (Flagg and Flory, Plant Life 1976a) . 
Brownsville Zephyranthes smallii (2n=54) was found in a few small populations in 
Brownsville (Fig. 7). It is intermediate in color, structure and opening time 
between Z. pulchella (2n=48) and a race of Z. chlorosolen (2n=60), and is clearly 
a hybrid derivative of the two. 
Texas Coastal Bend . Zephyranthes jonesii (2n+48) ranged between Victoria and 
Corpus Christi (yellow area in Fig. 7), and Z. refugiensis (2n=48) was found (gray 
area in Fig. 7) inside the range of Z. jonesii near the town of Refugio. All the 
evidence (Flagg and Flory, 1976) strongly indicates that Z. jonesii is a hybrid 
between Z. pulchella (2n=48) and Z. chlorosolen (2n=48), and that Z. refugiensis 
(2n-48) is the result of backcrossing between Z. jonesii and Z. pulchella. 
Stability of Hybrid Taxa . Zephyranthes pulchella and Z. chlorosolen apparently 
hybridized under natural conditions at least twice. Considerable phenotypic 
differences between the parental species, associated with polyploidy and the 
heterogeneity of each, resulted in the their hybrids being quite distinct. Despite 
some variability, any two of the taxa (Z. pulchella, Z. refugiensis, Z. smallii, Z. 
jonesii and Z. chlorosolen) are at least as easily distinguished from each other as 
are many generally recognized species of rain-lilies. "Specific" boundaries of the 
five taxa are sustained by polyploidy, apomixis, and strong tendencies toward 
self and intraspecific fertilization. 
Parthenogenesis has been known in polyploid rain-lilies for a century (Pace, 
1913; Flory, 1939; Coe 1953). Nevertheless, pollination seems to be required; I 
