The assignment of collections belonging to the genus Trema has been reassessed using numerical taxonomy methods. Observation in the field in Togo, West Africa, confirmed high phenotypic variation but not the previously asserted lack of character concordance within the T. guineensis complex. This study was carried out to assess the circumscription of taxa in the area. Distance between specimens was computed using the Gower's general coefficient of similarity and the non-parametric MODECLUS cluster analysis was used to discover how the specimens segregated. The existence of three clusters in the 158 specimen dataset using 44 morphological characters was suggested by MODECLUS. Canonical discriminant analysis supported the recognition of those three clusters using 40 morphological characters. Classificatory discriminant analysis showed that all specimens except one are identified correctly by the discriminant function. We suggest that three species be recognized in Togo and the neighboring countries: T. orientalis, T. africana, and T. nitens. A key to the species is included and the advantages of the method suggested here are discussed.

Communicating Editor: Paul Wilson