New Zealand Journal of Botany abstract

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B97035

Received 18 June 1997; accepted 10 October 1997

New Zealand Journal of Botany, 1998, Vol. 36: 21-40

0028-825X/98/3601-021 $7.00 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand 1998

Phylogenetic analysis of the Carmichaelia complex, Clianthus, and Swainsona (Fabaceae), from Australia and New Zealand

P. B. HEENAN

Landcare Research
P. O. Box 69
Lincoln, New Zealand

Abstract  A phylogenetic analysis of Carmichaelia, Chordospartium, Corallospartium, Notospartium, Clianthus, and Swainsona was undertaken to test the monophyly of each genus and to examine relationships among species. The data matrix included 42 terminal taxa and 47 mainly morphological and anatomical characters. PAUP analyses resulted in two islands of equally parsimonious trees of 175 steps. Strict consensus trees identify a monophyletic New Zealand clade and a monophyletic Australian clade, and the phylogenetic analysis infers a single dispersal event to New Zealand. The taxa in the New Zealand clade are characterised by being woody shrubs or subshrubs, having terminal innovation shoots, persistent pith, wide ray parenchyma, vessel elements with helical thickenings, and slender and flexuose phloem fibres. Swainsona is polyphyletic if S. novae-zelandiae is included, and Carmichaelia is paraphyletic if Chordospartium, Corallospartium, and Notospartium are excluded. Recommendations are made for a revised generic classification with recognition of four monophyletic genera: Clianthus, Australian Swainsona, segregation of Swainsona novae-zelandiae from Swainsona, and enlargement of Carmichaelia to include Chordospartium, Corallospartium, and Notospartium. The inclusion of five quantitative characters and reweighting of all characters by the rescaled consistency index assisted in resolving polytomies within the Carmichaelia clade.

Keywords  Fabaceae; Galegeae; Carmichaelieae; Carmichaelia; Chordospartium; Corallospartium; Notospartium; Clianthus; Swainsona; phylogeny; biogeography; evolution; Australian flora; New Zealand flora

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