Data from: Contributions toward understanding the biodiversity of Passiflora in North America: updates and a new combination from the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico and vicinity

The Baja California Peninsula and surrounding landmasses harbor an
abundant flora in an otherwise harsh and arid environment. Of the many
plant groups native to this peninsular and insular region, passionflowers
(Passiflora, Passifloraceae) are represented by a handful of taxa that all
belong to a single lineage within the genus (section Dysosmia). Despite
centuries of exploration and floristic research in the area, basic
questions remain regarding this group—particularly the taxonomic status
among the Passiflora arida complex. Using an extensive sampling of
herbarium specimens and iNaturalist observations, the claims of endemism,
habitat characteristics, and taxon boundaries were investigated.
Peninsular endemism was confirmed for only one of the native Passiflora
taxa (P. fruticosa), with an additional taxon (P. palmeri) considered
near-endemic. Soil and climatic data revealed significant distinctions
between the habitats of many of the native taxa as well as within the P.
arida complex, corresponding mostly to precipitation and temperature
variables. Geometric morphometric analyses showed little success in
separating taxa based on leaf shape, indicating this line of evidence may
not be a good indicator of taxon identity in this group of plants. Based
on ecological differences and discrete macro- and micromorphological
features, a varietal name is here synonymized and a new combination is
proposed: Passiflora pentaschista.