Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
1. Three collections of Hyparrhenia from disturbed habitats of Ethiopia were studied and nine species were identified, as follows: H. pusilla, H. hirta, H. umbirosa, H. filipendula, H. confinis var. pallita, H. confinis, H. diplandra, H. cymbaria and H. papillipies and intergrading plants between the last two species.
2. Association of seven morphological characters was analyzed and by the use of the metroglyph analysis the presence of a hybrid swarm with introgression between H. cymbaria and H. papillipies was postulated.
3. The significance of these findings is discussed. It is suggested that apomixis, polyploidy, and introgression may be expected to produce complicated variation patterns. In regions, such as Ethiopia, where waves of human interference have operated over millenia, we may well expect to find a mingled order and complexity, intricate in the details of its patterns.
