Islands contain some of the most remarkable yet imperiled plants anywhere on Earth. Despite remarkable ecological/morphological diversity, insular endemics often retain the ability to hybridize and produce vigorous, fertile progeny. This study over several generations of synthetic interspecific hybrids between two species endemic to the Canary Islands shows that gene exchange between species can produce novel traits, transgressive phenotypes and novel combinations of features not seen in their parents. Results of this study provide experimental evidence of the potential of hybridization to promote diversification and possibly generate stabilized hybrid derivatives in plants in an oceanic archipelago.
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