SCHUETTPELZ, ERIC J.* AND SARA B. HOOT. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53201. - Phylogeny and biogeography of Anemone (Ranunculaceae) in the Southern Hemisphere based on molecular data.
Although Anemone is found primarily in the Northern Hemisphere,
several species exist in the temperate or montane regions of the
Southern Hemisphere. Nuclear ITS and chloroplast rbcL-atpB
spacer sequences have resolved the relationships between and among
some Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere species. The
resulting phylogeny, which is largely congruent with a tree based on
chloroplast restriction site data, suggests a variety of dispersal
patterns. Several species in the Southern Hemisphere conform to a
pattern typical of a Gondwanan distribution: species from South Africa
(A. caffra, A. knowltonia) and Tasmania (A.
crassifolia) are found in the same clade. Another Southern
Hemisphere species from Kenya (A. thomsonii), is sister to a
Mediterranean species (A. blanda), indicating a north-south
dispersal event. More intriguing still is the close affinity between
a New Zealand endemic (A. tenuicaulis) and species from the
Northern Hemisphere (e.g. A. dichotoma), suggesting dispersal
along an island chain with subsequent extinction of all ancestral
species.
Key words: Anemone, biogeography, Ranunculaceae, rbcL-atpB spacer