Radiation of members of the Soroseris hookeriana complex (Asteraceae) on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and their proposed taxonomic treatment

By

Heng, La-mei
Zheng, Yu-Lin
Zhao, Yong-Bao
Wang, Yu-Jin

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2018

Original Publication

PhytoKeys

Volume

114

Pages

11-25

Subjects

Asteraceae , Radiation , Soroseris hookeriana complex , taxonomic treatment

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers [2010]-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.114.29914

 

Abstract

The existence of intermediate types is a major obstacle that can hinder the circumscription of species. Elucidating the mechanism responsible for intermediate types is essential for achieving a reasonable taxonomical treatment. In this study, we explored the evolutionary history and taxonomic treatment of theSoroserishookeriana(C.B.Clarke) Stebbins complex, which comprises six named taxa that may be taxonomically distinct and are all native to the Qingha-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). We made an investigation across the distribution range ofSoroserisStebbins and sampled 27 populations, mostly from the complex. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and two chloroplast loci were sequenced and analysed using the neighbour-joining and Bayesian inference methods. The resulting phylogenies show no well supported inconsistence in topologies, in line with the lack of incongruence detected by the length difference test. However, all the trees were largely unresolved withinS.hookerianacomplex, irrespective of the optimality criterion employed. We interpret these results as an experience of radiation, which is a common process for native genera on the QTP. Thus, we suggest that all of the morphotypes might be different forms, generated by incipient speciation due to recent explosive differentiation, possibly triggered by the drastic environmental changes of the QTP. Given their evolutionary history, we propose a pragmatic method for treating all of these species as subspecies with a total of four new combinations.