Systematics and evolutionary history of the circum­Mediterranean genus Anagyris L. (Fabaceae) based on morphological and molecular data

Abstract

A taxonomic survey of the relict and poorly known circum­Mediterranean Anagyris (Fabaceae) was conducted using a total evidence principle approach based on morphological and molecular data. Statistical analysis of both qualitative and quantitative morphological and chemically­derived traits allowed us to separate the Mediterranean A. foetida and the Canarian A. latifolia as independent species. Newly analyzed traits relating to the odour of leaves, number of inflorescences per branch, colour of fresh calyx, and degree of corolla opening, were diagnostic for identifying these two previously almost indistinguishable taxa. Significant differences in quantitative morphometric traits indicate that vegetative and floral characters are overall larger in A. latifolia than in A. foetida, supporting the hypothesis of increased size and woodiness of Macaronesian endemic plants compared to the reduced sizes of their continental counterparts adapted to the more xeric Mediterranean climate. Combined plastid trnLF and nuclear ribosomal ITS data recovered a monophyletic origin of Anagyris within the central­western Eurasian Thermopsideae clade and its split into two lineages. The dated divergences of the Anagyris lineages, calculated by Bayesian relaxed­clock methods with the combined sequence data, showed that Anagyris diverged in the late Miocene (8.2 ± 4.5 Ma), and that the origin of A. foetida (3.6 ± 3.2 Ma) pre­dated that of A. latifolia (1.9 ± 2.1 Ma).

Tertiary montane origin of the Central Asian flora, evidence inferred from cpDNA sequences of Atraphaxis (Polygonaceae)

“…For instance, H. rhamnoides (Elaeagnaceae) (Jia et al ) and Myricaria (Tamaricaceae) (Zhang et al ) are both speculated to have originated from the Himalayas and migrated to Central Asia. Endemic to the Mediterranean, Anagyris (Leguminosae) (Ortega‐Olivencia and Catalán ), is inferred to have evolved in Central Asia and migrated to that region. Also, Calophaca (Leguminosae) (ML Zhang, unpubl.…”

Scrophularia arguta, a widespread annual plant in the Canary Islands: a single recent colonization event or a more complex phylogeographic pattern?

“…Furthermore, after island colonization and because of ecological niche availability, many taxa undergo speciation or evolutionary radiation processes (e.g., references in Carine 2005;Lled o et al 2005;Kim et al 2008;Garc ıa-Maroto et al 2009), occupying these niches and decreasing the probability of establishment of similar or related taxa by competition (niche preemption hypothesis, Silvertown 2004). The most common pattern of Canary Island colonization follows the "stepping-stone" model from east to west, which involves an initial colonization of the islands closest to the mainland and the sequential colonization of the western islands by dispersal from the nearest eastern island (Juan et al 2000;Francisco-Ortega et al 2001, 2002Allan et al 2004;Cowie and Holland 2006;Dlugosch and Parker 2007;Ortega-Olivencia and Catal an 2009).…”

Ornithophily for the nonspecialist: Differential pollination efficiency of the Macaronesian island paleoendemicNavaea phoenicea(Malvaceae) by generalist passerines

“…Likewise, a molecular phylogeny for Lotus species revealed a recent origin of the four Macaronesian species visited by birds (Ojeda et al, 2013). In Anagyris L. (Fabaceae), evidence of de novo mutualism with Phylloscopus has been presented both for Macaronesia and for the European continent (Ortega‐Olivencia et al, 2005; Valtueña et al, 2008; Ortega‐Olivencia and Catalán, 2009), the first evidence of recent ornithophilous adaptations in Europe. Such de novo mutualism has also been demonstrated for three Mediterranean Scrophularia species (Ortega‐Olivencia et al, 2012; Valtueña et al, 2012; Navarro‐Pérez et al, 2013).…”