Abstract Detail

Systematics Section

Bonifacino, J. Mauricio [1], Funk, Vicki A. [2].

Further desintegration of Nardophyllum (Compositae: Astereae).

Nardophyllum (Compositae: Astereae), is a genus restricted to southern South America; according to a recent revision, based on morphological and molecular data, it has five species. Two other species that used to be in Nardophyllum were segregated into the distinct genera, Katinasia and Ocyroe. Nardophyllum, as currently circumscribed is characterized by the presence of alternate leaves, discoid heads, yellow corollas, and a biseriate pappus composed of flattened bristles. Until a few months ago the placement of, Nardophyllum genistoides, an endemic species from central Chile, was dubious because of the lack of collections and material for DNA analysis. Interestingly, after nearly 150 years, this elusive species has been recently found by two independent teams of Chilean botanists working in the southern Andes near Santiago de Chile. Analysis of the new collections shows that this species is different for the rest of Nardophyllum. For instance, it, has conspicuously long stipitate glandular trichomes present along stems, leaves and phyllaries and the shape of the involucre and phyllaries, the naked receptacle, and the shape of the corolla and the style are not in agreement with the rest of the genus. The molecular data (ITS and trnL) confirms that the species belongs to the Chiliotrichum group, but it does not support its placement inside Nardophyllum instead it appears to be the sister taxon to Ocyroe and Llerasia but without the diagnostic characters of either of these two genera. Its phylogenetic position fits well with the biogeographical patterns of the Chiliotrichum group, where the most basal elements of each major clade are distributed in central-western Argentina, denoting this area as the putative center of origin for the extant members of the clade.

Broader Impacts:

1 - Universidad de la República, Laboratorio de Botánica , Facultad de Agronomía, Av. Garzón 780, Sayago, Montevideo, CP, 12900, Uruguay
2 - National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Department of Botany, MRC-166, P.O. Box 37012, Washington, DC, 20013-7012, USA

Keywords:
Compositae
Astereae
Nardophyllum
Chiliotrichum.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 36
Location: 556A/Convention Center
Date: Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
Time: 3:30 PM
Number: 36011
Abstract ID:323