Abstract Androsace (Primulaceae) is a morphologically diverse genus comprising approximately 120–170 annuals and perennials, many forming alpine cushions. It is predominantly distributed in high mountains, with diversity centers in the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau (QTP), the Alps, and the Pyrenees. Previous phylogenetic studies based mainly on a few DNA markers suggested that several traditional sections are not monophyletic, underscoring the need for a comprehensive taxonomic revision based on broader sampling and more robust evidence. Here we reconstruct the phylogeny of Androsace using newly sequenced plastomes and nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) from 43 accessions representing 32 species, complemented with public datasets to sample 73 species spanning all nine traditionally recognized sections and the former genus Pomatosace . Our analyses produced well‐supported phylogenies but revealed topological incongruence between plastid and nuclear datasets. At the sectional level, we confirm that A. sect. Androsace , sect. Aretia , and sect. Chamaejasme are paraphyletic or polyphyletic, consistent with earlier findings. Integrating our results with previous studies, we propose a revised infrageneric classification recognizing 10 sections: A. sect. Androsace , sect. Aretia , sect. Chamaejasme , sect. Elongatae sect. nov., sect. Filiformis , sect. Megista , sect. Mirabiles , sect. Orthocaulon , sect. Pomatosace comb. & stat. nov., and sect. Samuelia . This updated classification provides a more natural framework for future taxonomic and evolutionary studies on this highly diversified alpine genus.
Abstract Microsoroid ferns or Microsoroideae (Polypodiaceae), here estimated to contain ca. 380 species, are endemic to the Old World and Oceania. Previous studies have successfully identified six well‐supported clades and resolved their relationships. However, previous studies were based on relatively small taxon and character samplings, very little has been known about their biogeography, and botanists have not agreed on how many genera in this subfamily should be recognized. Here, we infer their phylogenies based on the largest datasets so far with Sanger‐DNA sequence data of six plastid markers of 830 (160% increase of the latest study) accessions representing ca. 266 (72% increase) species and 117 (303% increase) plastomes representing ca. 90 (221% increase) species of Microsoroideae. Our data resolve microsoroids into five major clades and well resolve the relationships among and within each of these clades. We uncover relationships of a number of species in Microsorum s.l. for the first time. We provide strong evidence that Polypodiastrum is nested within and should be treated as a synonym of Polypodiodes . Our analyses show that Microsoroideae originated ca. 53 Ma in the Paleocene, and the first genus/tribe started to diverge from the rest ca. 48 Ma. Nearly all infra‐tribal diversifications occurred around or right after the Eocene/Oligocene Boundary with major shifts in Earth's climates. Based on morphological and molecular results, we propose to recognize 5 tribes and 22 genera including an existing hybrid genus, a new hybrid genus, and a newly reinstalled genus, Campylogramma . We provide a key to genera and taxonomic synopses of tribes and genera.
Abstract The 143 species of Hawaiian lobeliads constitute the largest adaptive radiation on any oceanic archipelago and comprise six recognized genera distributed across eight well‐supported clades. While molecular studies, including a recent study based on 633 nuclear loci, have supported a single colonization of the Hawaiian‐Emperor seamount chain, the Hawaiian species of Lobelia and the endemic genera Clermontia and Cyanea are not monophyletic. To maintain a natural classification and minimize taxonomic instability, we adopt a least‐change approach in providing a new generic circumscription of the Hawaiian lobeliads. This classification scheme is supported by ancestral state reconstruction of key morphological and ecological traits. We recognize six genera of Hawaiian lobeliads by resurrecting the genera Galeatella and Neowimmeria to rectify the non‐monophyly of Lobelia in Hawaii and subsuming Clermontia into Cyanea to render the latter monophyletic. This new classification expands the size of the largest plant genus on Hawaii, with 104 accepted species of Cyanea . To accommodate the morphological diversity of an expanded Cyanea , we propose a subgeneric classification that corresponds to the three major clades: Cyanea subg. Cyanea , Cy. subg. Clermontia , and Cy. subg. Delisseoideae . While we do not propose a sectional classification for the latter two subgenera, we do propose a preliminary sectional classification for Cy. subg. Cyanea using existing sectional names and well‐supported molecular clades. We highlight areas where species have been shown not to be exclusive lineages, and where attention in future phylogenetic and taxonomic studies may be warranted.
Abstract The genus Populus represents one of the most taxonomically challenging plant groups, with P. szechuanica var. tibetica standing out as a typical representative of such taxonomic perplexity. Extensive taxonomic confusion surrounding this variety involves a multitude of related taxa, which has imposed considerable adverse impacts on the research and utilization of poplar species. In this study, we conducted a long‐term systematic investigation integrating literature review, herbarium specimen examination, morphological analysis, distribution survey, genomic sequencing, and growth trait observation, which has clarified most of the existing taxonomic ambiguities and led to the description of a new species. The fundamental cause of the persistent taxonomic confusion is that the multiple syntypes assigned to P. szechuanica var. tibetica do not belong to a single species: the syntypes collected from Ladakh exhibit distinct morphological characteristics of P. ciliata , while the syntype from western Sichuan is a member of the P. szechuanica species complex. Poplar taxa previously identified as P. szechuanica var. tibetica show remarkable discrepancies in morphology, genetics, habitat adaptation, and phylogenetic relationships. Our findings confirm that P. yatungensis , P. pseudoglauca , and P. wuana originate from natural hybridization between P. ciliata var. gyirongensis and P. curviserrata , whereas P. purdomii , P. xiangchengensi s, and P. haoana derive from natural hybridization between P. szechuanica and P. curviserrata . We therefore propose the following taxonomic treatments: P. szechuanica var. tibetica and P. yatungensis should be recognized as two independent varieties of P. ciliata , and P. purdomii , P. xiangchengensis , and P. haoana should be reduced to the rank of variety under P. szechuanica . Additionally, the native poplar from the middle reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, putatively derived from natural hybridization among P. ciliata , P. cathayana , and P. curviserrata , is described here as a new species, P. yinii .
