Peripatric speciation in an endemic Macaronesian plant after recent divergence from a widespread relative.

The Macaronesian Scrophularia lowei is hypothesized to have arisen from the widespread S. arguta on the basis of several phylogenetic studies of the genus, but sampling has been limited. Although these two annual species are morphologically distinct, the origin of S.

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

Many studies have addressed evolution and phylogeography of plant taxa in oceanic islands, but have primarily focused on endemics because of the assumption that in widespread taxa the absence of morphological differentiation between island and mainland populations is due to recent colonization. In this paper, we studied the phylogeography of Scrophularia arguta, a widespread annual species, in an attempt to determine the number and spatiotemporal origins of dispersal events to Canary Islands. Four different regions, ITS and ETS from nDNA and psbA-trnH and psbJ-petA from cpDNA, were used to date divergence events within S.

Evolution of the staminode in a representative sample of Scrophularia and its role as nectar safeguard in three widespread species.

Approximately 30% of the genera of Scrophulariaceae s.str. have a staminode, which is the remnant of a sterile stamen.

Phylogeography of a Tertiary relict plant, Meconopsis cambrica (Papaveraceae), implies the existence of northern refugia for a temperate herb.

The perennial herb Meconopsis cambrica, a western European endemic, is the only European species of the otherwise Himalayan genus Meconopsis and has been interpreted as a Tertiary relict species. Using rbcL and ITS sequence variation, we date the split between M. cambrica and its sister clade Papaver s.

Insects, birds and lizards as pollinators of the largest-flowered Scrophularia of Europe and Macaronesia.

Background And Aims: It has traditionally been considered that the flowers of Scrophularia are mainly pollinated by wasps. We studied the pollination system of four species which stand out for their large and showy flowers: S. sambucifolia and S.

Evolutionary significance of the invasion of introduced populations into the native range of Meconopsis cambrica.

The long history of the deliberate or accidental and human-mediated dispersal of flowering plants has led to the introduction of foreign genotypes of many species into areas of Europe hitherto occupied by potentially distinct native populations. Studies of the genetic and evolutionary consequences of such changes are handicapped by the difficulty of identifying the surviving native populations of many species in the absence of clear morphological differences. We investigated the relationship between putative native and introduced populations of the herbaceous perennial Meconopsis cambrica (Papaveraceae), as the isolated native populations of this species can be identified by historical and ecological evidence.

Self-sterility in two Cytisus species (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae) due to early-acting inbreeding depression.

In most angiosperms, the endosperm develops before the embryo, but with harmony between the two structures until final seed formation. In an embryological study, we show that inbreeding depression causes disharmony in development of the two structures in two Leguminosae shrubs, Cytisus multiflorus and C. striatus.

Megasporogenesis, megagametogenesis and ontogeny of the aril in Cytisus striatus and C. multiflorus (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae).

Background And Aims: There are few embryological reports on wild legumes and even fewer on their seminal appendages. There are no existing studies on the complete ontogeny of these appendages in Cytiseae, a very important Papilionoideae tribe in Mediterranean ecosystems. In this work megasporogenesis, megagametogenesis and aril ontogeny were studied in Cytisus multiflorus and C.