Home at Last II: Gerbera hieracioides (Kunth) Zardini (Mutisieae, Asteraceae) is really a Chaptalia

By

Xu, Xiaodan
Zheng, Wei
Funk, V. A. (Vicki Ann), 1947-
Wen, Jun

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2018

Original Publication

PhytoKeys

Volume

95

Pages

93-106

Subjects

Africa , Asia , Chaptalia hieracioides , Compositae , Gerbera hieracioides , Gerbera-complex , SEM , South America , Stomata , Trichocline hieracioides

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers [2010]-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.95.22916

 

Abstract

Gerbera hieracioides (Kunth) Zardini of the Gerbera-complex (Mutisieae, Asteraceae/Compositae) is distributed in Ecuador and Peru. This perennial herb was first named as Onoseris hieracioides Kunth and was later recognised as Trichocline hieracioides (Kunth) Ferreyra. Now it is generally treated as Gerbera hieracioides (Kunth) Zardini but it has never been included in any section of Gerbera. In this study, the position of Gerbera hieracioides is assessed based on morphology and a molecular phylogeny that includes G. hieracioides and 28 other species from the Gerbera-complex. Morphologically, G. hieracioides bears leaves with the adaxial epidermal surface without stomates but with soft thin trichomes, bracteate scapes, trimorphic capitula and inner ray florets with the corolla shorter than the style. These characters suggest that the species is most closely related to Chaptalia rather than to Gerbera or Trichocline. Furthermore, the phylogenetic results based on two nuclear (ITS and ETS) and two chloroplast (trnL–trnF and trnL–rpl32) sequences strongly support the placement of G. hieracioides nested within Chaptalia. As both morphological characters and the molecular phylogenetic results support the transfer of G. hieracioides to Chaptalia, this enigmatic taxon is recognised as Chaptalia hieracioides (Kunth) X.-D. Xu & W. Zheng.