Phylogeny, adaptive evolution, and taxonomy of (Apiaceae): evidence from plastid phylogenomics and morphological data.

Introduction: The genus , belonging to Apiaceae, includes approximately 25 species distributed in the high-altitude Sino-Himalayan region from E Nepal to SW China. This genus is a taxonomically complex genus with often indistinct species boundaries and problematic generic delimitation with and other close genera, largely due to the varied morphological characteristics.

Methods: To explore the phylogenetic relationships and clarify the limits of the genus and its related genera, we reconstructed a reliable phylogenetic framework with high support and resolution based on two molecular datasets (plastome data and ITS sequences) and performed morphological analyses.

Plastid Phylogenomic Analyses Reveal a Cryptic Species of (Apiaceae, Angiosperms).

is identified and described as a cryptic species from Sichuan Province, China. Although the distribution of this cryptic species overlaps with that of and , the morphological boundaries between them are explicit and have obviously distinguishable characters. The main distinguishing features of the cryptic species are as follows: long conical multi-branched roots, very short pedicels in compound umbels, unequal rays, oblong-globose fruits, 1-2 vittae per furrow and 3-4 vittae on the commissure.