Evolution of Insular Pacific Pittosporum (Pittosporaceae): Origin of the Hawaiian Radiation

New World Origins of Southwest Pacific Gesneriaceae: Multiple Movements Across and Within the South Pacific

“…However, subtropical Coronanthereae might have been unsuited for the cool climate and extreme seasonality of Antarctica, which finally became inhospitable to woody plants ;15 Ma (Hill and Scriven 1995). The findings in numerous molecular studies now support the hypothesis that current biotic patterns in the southern Pacific are influenced by dispersal (Swenson and Bremer 1997;Hurr et al 1999;Wagstaff et al 2000Wagstaff et al , 2002Mummenhoff et al 2001;Gemmill et al 2002;Winkworth et al 2002b;Howarth et al 2003;Nepokroeff et al 2003;Smissen et al 2003;Berry et al 2004;Clement et al 2004;Mummenhoff 2004;Albach et al 2005;Bartish et al 2005;Cronk et al 2005;Motley et al 2005;Meudt and Simpson 2006;Clark et al 2008Clark et al , 2009Pfeil and Crisp 2008;Smith et al 2008;Tay et al 2010). The inference of dispersal has been most obvious for species on oceanic islands of recent origin but less so for those on continental islands.…”

“…Molecular studies have clarified the phylogenetic relationships of many genera and tribes, providing evidence that supports (1) the monophyly of Gesneriaceae as one of three families sister to ''core'' Lamiales (Oxelman et al 1999Backlund et al 2000;Olmstead et al 2001;Bremer et al 2002;Wortley et al 2005; APG III 2009); (2) the monophyly of the New World subfamily Gesnerioideae and the presence within it of at least six or seven tribes Zimmer et al 2002;Roalson et al 2005a); (3) the presence of a distinct, perhaps relictual, tribe, Epithemateae, sister to the rest of the tribes within Cyrtandroideae (Mayer et al 2003); (4) the incongruence between traditional classification and tribal relationships suggested by molecular data within subfam. Cyrtandroideae excluding Epithemateae (Mö ller et al 2009); and (5) the internal relationships and monophyly of several tribes (Episcieae: Smith 2000b;Clark et al 2006;Gloxinieae: Smith and Atkinson 1998;Roalson et al 2005aRoalson et al , 2005bRoalson et al , 2008Beslerieae and Napeantheae: Smith 2000a; Sinningieae: Perret et al 2003; Gloxinieae and Gesnerieae: Smith et al 2004aSmith et al , 2004b) and genera (Columnea: Smith andSytsma 1994a, 1994b;Saintpaulia: Mö ller and Cronk 1997; …”

“…The same regions used by Zimmer et al (2002) were chosen for sequencing, as they were useful in resolving relationships within Gesnerioideae, with the addition of the psbA-trnK spacer region (Winkworth et al 2002a). The ITS and trnL-trnF data sets have been shown to have great utility in generic and family limitations (Baldwin et al 1995;review in Shaw et al 2005).…”

Pittosporum halophilum Rock (Pittosporaceae: Apiales): Rediscovery, Taxonomic Assessment, and Conservation Status of a Critically Endangered Endemic Species from Moloka'i, Hawaiian Islands

“…Its members are readily identified by the unilocular fruits with bright orange, red, or brown seeds immersed in a sticky resin (Cayzer et al 2000). The Hawaiian species of the genus form a strongly supported monophyletic clade in rDNA internal transcribed spacer sequence (ITS) studies (Gemmill et al 2002), suggesting a single colonization event followed by phyletic radiations. The monophyly of the Hawaiian taxa is further supported by morphological features such as increased seed and capsule size and capsule woodiness as compared with nonHawaiian taxa (Carlquist 1966, Gemmill et al 2002.…”

“…The Hawaiian species of the genus form a strongly supported monophyletic clade in rDNA internal transcribed spacer sequence (ITS) studies (Gemmill et al 2002), suggesting a single colonization event followed by phyletic radiations. The monophyly of the Hawaiian taxa is further supported by morphological features such as increased seed and capsule size and capsule woodiness as compared with nonHawaiian taxa (Carlquist 1966, Gemmill et al 2002. Furthermore, ITS analyses indicate that the Hawaiian taxa share a common ancestor with the Fijian P. rhytidocarpum A.…”