We reviewed the taxonomic status of Picea alcoquiana var. reflexa based on the morphology of cones and other characters that had been previously used to distinguish it from var. alcoquiana. Picea alcoquiana var. reflexa has been distinguished from var. alcoquiana by its reflexed cone scales. Reflexed cone scales from 831 cones from eight populations and two individual trees covering the entire geographic range of P. alcoquiana were categorized into five types. We discovered that cone scale reflection varied among populations and continuously within the species, and therefore could not be used to distinguish var. reflexa from var. alcoquiana. We concluded that P. alcoquiana var. reflexa should not be recognized as infraspecifically distinct.
