TRUSTY, JENNIFER L.*, DAVID J. BOGLER, ARNOLDO SANTOS-GUERRA, RICHARD G. OLMSTEAD, AND JAVIER FRANCISCO-ORTEGA. Department of Biology, Florida International University, University Park, Miami, FL 33199, and, Fairchild Tropical Garden Research Center, 11935 Old Cutler Road, Miami, FL 33156. - Tracing the origin of the Macaronesian endemic genus Bystropogon (Lamiaceae).
Attempts to trace the origin of organisms on islands is frustrated by
the major morphological changes that often occur following long
distance dispersal and speciation. The Canary Islands exemplify how
island environments influence speciation. The unique flora of the
Canary Islands includes approximatedly 600 endemic species with at
least 23 endemic genera that represent 40% of the native plant species
of these islands. A molecular phylogenetic study based on chloroplast
and nuclear DNA regions suggest that the ancestor of the Macaronesian
endemic genus Bystropogon (Lamiaceae) arrived from the New
World. These results provide further molecular evidence for a
floristic link between the Macaronesian Islands and the New World
previously shown in Sedum (Crassulaceae) and Pericallis
(Asteraceae). Our results also provide an initial phylogeny within
the Mentheae tribe and will help to resolve the intergeneric
relationships and evolutionary history of this tribe.
Key words: ITS, long-distance dispersal, oceanic islands, phylogeny, trnl/f