| Summary: | The genus Litsea in America is a small group of species with high variability that has not been evaluated rigorously; authors recognize either three or as many as 11 species because of the unclear delimitation of taxa. Our focus in this study was to resolve the number, names, and distinguishing features of the American species of Litsea, based on strict morphological analyses, namely Population aggregation analysis and Multivariate analyses. Population aggregation analysis revealed a large number of polymorphisms in all populations; nevertheless, L. aestivalis was distinguished from the other species. Ordination of character variability by principal components analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling supported the distinction of seven additional species. Finally, eight species of Litsea are recognized in America and a key for their identification is provided.
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