Lappula duplicicarpa var. brevispinula C.J.Wang (Boraginaceae) is a synonym of L. macrantha based on morphological and molecular data

Upon examining the type specimens of Lappula duplicicarpa var. duplicicarpa and L. duplicicarpa var. brevispinula, significant morphological differences were observed between these two taxa, indicating that the classification of L. duplicicarpa var. brevispinula as a variety may not be warranted. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive morphological comparison of L. duplicicarpa var. duplicicarpa, L. duplicicarpa var. brevispinula, and L. macrantha, alongside reconstructing a phylogenetic tree based on complete chloroplast genome data. The analyses suggest that L. duplicicarpa var. brevispinula and L. duplicicarpa var. duplicicarpa differ significantly in the morphology of the calyx, corolla, and eremocarps, as well as in the micro-morphological traits of the eremocarp. Statistically significant discontinuities were also observed in the sizes of the corolla and eremocarps. Notably, the morphological characteristics of L. duplicicarpa var. brevispinula fall within the range of variat..., , , # Molecular and morphological data of Lappula duplicicarpa var. brevispinula

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.j9kd51cnz](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.j9kd51cnz)

## Description of the data and file structure

Molecular and morphological data of *Lappula duplicicarpa* var. brevispinula.

Total genomic DNA was extracted from silica-gel dried leaves of L. duplicicarpa var. *duplicicarpa*, *L. duplicicarpa* var. *brevispinula*, and *L. macrantha* using a modified CTAB method (Li et al. 2013). High-quality genomic DNA was sent to Novogene Biotechnology in Tianjin for library construction and sequencing. Libraries were sequenced on the NovaSeq 6000 platform, generating paired-end reads of 2×150 bp, with approximately 10 Gb of raw data per sample. Plastome assembly was performed using GetOrganelle version 1.7.5 (Jin et al. 2020) with default parameters, and annotation was carried out using the online tool CpGAVAS2 (Shi et al. 2019), with *Lappula lasiocarpa* (Accession: NC_077516) as the refer...