So Closely Related and Yet So Different: Strong Contrasts Between the Evolutionary Histories of Species of the Polyploid Complex in Central Europe.

Recurrent polyploid formation and weak reproductive barriers between independent polyploid lineages generate intricate species complexes with high diversity and reticulate evolutionary history. Uncovering the evolutionary processes that formed their present-day cytotypic and genetic structure is a challenging task. We studied the species complex of , composed of diploid endemics in the European Mediterranean and diploid-polyploid lineages more widely distributed across Europe, focusing on the poorly understood variation in Central Europe.