Plastid Phylogenomic Analyses Reveal the Taxonomic Position of .

is a famous folk medicinal plant in China. However, the taxonomy of the has not been sufficiently resolved. Due to similar morphological features between and members, the World Flora Online (WFO) Plant List suggested that this species transformed into the genus and merged with . However, both species are obviously diverse in leaf shape, bracts, and bracteoles. To check the taxonomic position of , we newly sequenced and assembled the plastome of and compared it with nine other plastomes of the genus . Ten plastomes were highly conserved and similar in gene order, codon bias, RNA editing sites, IR borders, and SSRs. Nevertheless, 10 mutation hotspot regions (, , , , , , , , , and ) were still detected. In addition, both phylogenetic analyses based on plastome data and ITS sequences robustly supported that was not clustered with members of but nested in was sister to . in the ITS topology but clustered with in the plastome tree. These findings implied that should be transferred to genus and not merged with . , but as an independent species, which was further verified by morphological evidences. Therefore, transferring under the genus as an independent species was reasonable, and a new combination was presented.