Pulling the sting out of nettle systematics - A comprehensive phylogeny of the genus Urtica L. (Urticaceae).

The genus Urtica L. is subcosmopolitan, found on all continents (except Antarctica) and most extratropical islands and ranges from Alaska to Patagonia, Spitzbergen to the Cape and Camtschatka to the subantarctic islands. However, throughout its geographical range morphologically nearly indistinguishable species are found alongside morphologically quite disparate species, with the overall diversity of morphological characters extremely limited.

Phylogeny, biogeography, and evolution of sex expression in the southern hemisphere genus Leptinella (Compositae, Anthemideae).

Leptinella is exceptional in the Anthemideae (Compositae) in its evolution of dimorphic sex expression. A molecular phylogeny including 40 of its 42 described taxa based on nucleotide sequences from two plastid regions (psbA-trnH and trnC-petN spacers) and one nuclear marker (nrDNA ITS) is presented. Phylogenetic reconstruction was hampered by inadequate phylogenetic signal indicating recent radiation of species during the last 5 Ma and high level of reticulate evolution presumably caused by hybridisation and polyploidisation.

Evolution and biogeography of Pleurophyllum (Astereae, Asteraceae), a small genus of megaherbs endemic to the subantarctic islands.

Premise Of The Study: The abundance of fossils in Antarctica suggests this continent was a center of diversification and a corridor for migration for many austral plant groups until the late Tertiary and may have played a pivotal role in shaping plant distributions in the southern hemisphere. Although the Antarctic flora was largely erased by glaciation during the Pleistocene, at least some Antarctic plant species found refuge on the subantarctic islands.

Methods: We used independent and combined analyses of ITS, ETS, trnK, and trnL DNA sequences to infer phylogenetic relations in Pleurophyllum, a small genus of three species that are endemic to the subantarctic islands of Australia and New Zealand.