Kenneth M. Cameron

University of Wisconsin–Madison | UW · Department of Botany

Background: Phylogenetic research in Tulipa (Liliaceae), a genus of significant economic and horticultural value, has relied on limited nuclear (mostly nrITS) and plastid gene sequences, resulting in low-resolution phylogenetic trees and uncertain intrageneric classifications. The genus, noted for its large genome, presents discordant relationships...

Comparative and exploratory scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used for the first comprehensive survey of the carnivorous pitcher plant genus Heliamphora (Sarraceniaceae) examining the abaxial and adaxial epidermal structures, including trichomes, extrafloral nectaries, and stomata. A total of 50 leaves were sampled, which included all 24 known...

Species delimitation has long been a subject of controversy, and there are many alternative concepts and approaches used to define species in plants. The genus Amana (Liliaceae), known as ”East Asian tulips” has a number of cryptic species and a huge genome size (1C = 21.48–57.35 pg). It also is intriguing how such a spring ephemeral genus thrives...

Geographical variation in species richness in plant groups is determined by the interplay between historical, evolutionary, and ecological processes. However, the processes underlying the striking disparity in species richness between Asia and the Americas remain poorly understood. Here, we synthesize global phylogenetic and macroecological data on...

Introduction Phylogenomics have been widely used to resolve ambiguous and controversial evolutionary relationships among plant species and genera, and the identification of unique indels in plastomes may even help to understand the evolution of some plant families. Menispermum L. (Menispermaceae) consists of three species, M. dauricum DC., M. canad...

A new study shows that Vanilla species are unique among orchids for having evolved a multimodal mechanism of seed and fruit dispersal. Bees inadvertently transport seeds externally while collecting fragrance or nest material from dehiscent fruits. Rodents and marsupials consume and disperse aromatic fleshy fruits and the crustose seeds within.

Premise: Numerous processes influence plant distributions and co‐occurrence patterns, including ecological sorting, limiting similarity, and stochastic effects. To discriminate among these processes and determine the spatial scales at which they operate, we investigated how functional traits and phylogenetic relatedness influence the distribution o...

Premise Numerous processes influence plant distributions and co‐occurrence patterns, including ecological sorting, limiting similarity, and stochastic effects. To discriminate among these processes and determine the spatial scales at which they operate, we investigated how functional traits and phylogenetic relatedness influence the distribution of...

Vanilla andina, a new species belonging to subgen. Vanilla, is described and illustrated based on living material from Peru and Ecuador. The new species is similar to V. armoriquensis but can be easily distinguished by the prominent parallel callus, longitudinal narrow keels that extend above the middle of the lip and broadly obtuse to emarginate m...

Background and aims: The East Asian-Tethyan disjunction pattern and its formation mechanisms have long been of interest to researchers. Here, we studied the biogeographic history of Asteraceae tribe Cardueae, with a particular focus on the temperate East Asian genus Atractylodes DC., to understand the role of tectonic and climatic events in drivin...

Until now the genus Amana (Liliaceae), known as ‘East Asian tulips’, has contained just seven species. In this study, a phylogenomic and integrative taxonomic approach was used to reveal two new species, Amana nanyueensis from Central China and A. tianmuensis from East China. Amana nanyueensis resembles A. edulis in possessing a densely villous-woo...

Liliaceae, distributed mainly across the temperate Northern Hemisphere, are of great horticultural, culinary and medical importance, but are also a family with a long history of taxonomic uncertainty. Challenges in accurate species identification persist and phylogenetic relationships among genera in the family continue to be unresolved and/or weak...

PREMISE: We tested 25 classic and novel hypotheses regarding trait–origin, trait–trait, and trait– environment relationships to account for flora-wide variation in life history, habit, and especially reproductive traits using a plastid DNA phylogeny of most native (96.6%, or 1494/1547 species) and introduced (87.5%, or 690/789 species) angiosperms...

The primarily North American orchid genus Spiranthes Rich. continues to present taxonomic challenges for botanists, and it has attracted an increasing level of scientific study in the last decade. In fact, 2018 and 2019 were banner years for the study of the recalcitrant S. sinensis (Pers.) Ames species complex, with the publication of four wide-ra...

Despite advances in community assembly theory, uncertainties remain regarding how ecological and evolutionary processes shape species distributions and communities. We analyzed patterns of occurrence for 139 herbaceous plant species across 257 forest stands in Wisconsin (USA) to test predictions from community assembly theory. Specifically, we appl...

The Potato Introduction Station in Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin has maintained herbarium specimens as part of its operations. These specimens mostly were grown from seeds in the field plots or greenhouses, but also include original specimens made during germplasm collecting expeditions. The herbarium of the Station (herbarium acronym PTIS) has been trans...

The morphologically overlapping and frequently syntopic species of Spiranthes (Orchidaceae) found in the Sierra Nevada of California and Cascade Range of Oregon—S. porrifolia, S. romanzoffiana, and S. stellata—have long been a source of taxonomic confusion. Much of this confusion is attributed to hypothesized hybridization between species, and a la...

Clarity in species delimitation is fundamental for successfully testing evolutionary theory and is integral to implementing conservation strategies. The Old World Spiranthes sinensis species complex (Orchidaceae) has been a source of systematic confusion due to its expansive distribution and morphological variation, lacking a comprehensive systemat...

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: We used spatial phylogenetics to analyze the assembly of the Wisconsin flora, linking processes of dispersal and niche evolution to spatial patterns of floristic and phylogenetic diversity and testing whether phylogenetic niche conservatism can account for these patterns. METHODS: We used digitized records and a new molecular...

The genus Monstera (Araceae) has a history of problematic taxonomy due to the large number of existing names, their incorrect application, and prevalence of incomplete herbarium specimens. Recent field exploration and study of herbarium collections has led to the discovery of several new species of Monstera, especially in Central America. Here we d...

Two major obstacles to quantifying biodiversity are reticulate evolution and the evolution of genetically distinct but morphologically overlapping cryptic species. The Spiranthes cernua species complex (Orchidaceae) has defied satisfactory species delineation, often described as intractable, due to morphological variability within species, overall...

Two major obstacles to quantifying biodiversity are reticulate evolution and the evolution of genetically distinct but morphologically overlapping cryptic species. The Spiranthes cernua species complex (Orchidaceae) has defied satisfactory species delineation, often described as intractable, due to morphological variability within species, overall...

Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.) is the most important afforestation tree species in China because of its excellent timber quality and high yield. However, the limited availability of phosphorus in forest soils is widespread and has become an important factor in the declining productivity of Chinese fir plantations. Here we used...

The enigmatic, achlorophyllous, mycoheterotrophic orchid Pogoniopsis has been con- sidered to be closely related to Pogonia and/or Cleistes in most systems of orchid classification. These orchids and their relatives are recognized as tribe Pogonieae in subfamily Vanilloideae. Until recently, DNA from this Brazilian endemic has been unavailable, but...

Morella rubra (Myricaceae), also known as Chinese bayberry, is an economically important, subtropical, evergreen fruit tree. The phylogenetic placement of Myricaceae within Fagales and the origin of Chinese bayberry’s domestication are still unresolved. In this study, we report the chloroplast (cp) genome of M. rubra and take advantage of several p...

Phylogenetic tree reconstruction of 12 taxa of Fagales using maximum likelihood (ML) based on the 69 shared protein-coding genes sequences.

The distribution and presence of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in the cp genome of M.rubra-FJZS (A) and M. rubra-YNML (B).

Premise of the study: Understanding the underlying mechanisms for the evolution of intercontinental disjunct patterns has long fascinated botanists. We present a molecular phylogenetic reconstruction of Maianthemum s.l. (including Smilacina) with a focus on Maianthemum s.s. species, which have a disjunct distribution between Eurasia and North Amer...

Species complexes and cryptic species pose inherent challenges to taxonomists, systematists, and conservationists; Spiranthes (Orchidaceae) is a traditionally systematically challenging genus in which species complexes and cryptic species are a common phenomenon. Using an integrated approach of molecular phylogenetic, morphometric, and phenological...

Elsholtzia and its allied genera such as Collinsonia and Perilla (tribe Elsholtzieae, Lamiaceae) are an ecologically and economically important plant group consisting of ~71 species, with most species distributed in East and Southeast Asia, and several species in North America. Their phylogeny and historical biogeography resulting in a distant inte...

The genus Amana Honda (Liliaceae), when it is treated as separate from Tulipa, comprises six perennial herbaceous species that are restricted to China, Japan and the Korean Peninsula. Although all six Amana species have important medicinal and horticultural uses, studies focused on species identification and molecular phylogenetics are few. Here we...

Codon usage (gray bar) and relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU) value (red dot) of six Amana chloroplast genomes.

Repeat analyses in six Amana chloroplast genomes. (A) Frequency of repeat types. (B) Frequency of repeats by length. (C) Summary of the shared repeats among species (ED, A. edulis; LA, A. latifolia; ER, A. erythronioides; AN, A. anhuiensis; KU, A. kuocangshanica; WA, A. wanzhensis).

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in six Amana chloroplast genomes. (A) Numbers of SSRs by length. (B) Distribution of SSR loci in the cp genomes. IGS, intergenic spacer region.

Nucleotide variability (Pi) values and total number of mutation (Eta) in Amana.

Simple sequence repeat (SSR) polymorphism in six Amana chloroplast genomes.

Codon usage and relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU) value of six Amana chloroplast genomes.

Simple sequence repeat (SSR) distribution in six Amana chloroplast genomes.

Sequence identity plots between five Amana chloroplast genomes, with A. kuocangshanica as a reference. Annotated genes are displayed along the top. The vertical scale represents the percent identity between 50 and 100%. Genome regions are color coded as exon, intron, and conserved non-coding sequences (CNS).

Analyses of repeat sequences in six Amana chloroplast genomes.

A new species, superficially similar to Pleurothallis allenii, and best attributed to Pleurothallis sect. Pleurothallis subsect. Acroniae ser. Amphygiae, is described here as Pleurothallis flavomarginata. The new species was discovered under cultivation at the orchid nursery Ecuagenera. The new species is described, illustrated, and distinguished f...

Spiranthes (Orchidaceae) is a primarily North American genus that has traditionally presented numerous taxonomic challenges. Many species display marked intra-species morphological variation and/or inter-species morphological similarities, such that cryptic speciation may be common. Molecular phylogenetic, morphological, field, and herbarium resear...

New species of Pleurothallis from Panama, Pleurothallis anthurioides, and from Ecuador, Pleurothallis kaynagata, are described and illustrated. The new species are distinguished based on their morphological distinctness from similar species. Pleurothallis kaynagata represents a new addition to Pleurothallis sect. Abortivae, which was previously tho...

A new species of Specklinia with a repent growth habit and minute purple flowers is described and illustrated. The new species is distinguished from Specklinia wrightii based on its morphological and molecular distinctness from that species. The phylogenetic placement of the new species is provided based on an nrITS tree. The species described here...

Aim Orchidaceae is the most species‐rich angiosperm family and has one of the broadest distributions. Until now, the lack of a well‐resolved phylogeny has prevented analyses of orchid historical biogeography. In this study, we use such a phylogeny to estimate the geographical spread of orchids, evaluate the importance of different regions in their...

Aim Across angiosperm families, the area occupied by a family is strongly correlated with its richness. We explore the causes of this area‐richness correlation using the cosmopolitan family, Cyperaceae Juss., as a model. We test the hypothesis that, despite a proposed tropical origin, temperate lineages in the family diversified at elevated rates....

Great diversity of life forms has favored the colonization and dominance of angiosperms in almost every terrestrial habitat. This is certainly the case in the Orchidaceae, in which the diversity of life forms includes epiphytes, terrestrial geophytes and mycoheterotrophs. In this study we investigated the evolution of life form in tribe Epidendreae...

New species of Masdevallia, Pleurothallis, Stelis, Trisetella and Zootrophion are described and illustrated, including three new forms of Masdevallia and one new form of Pleurothallis. New synonymy is provided for Acianthera dodsonii, Stelis pachyglossa, S. retusa, S. transversalis and Zootrophion serpentinum.

The role of geography and ecology in speciation are often discussed in the context of phylogenetic niche conservatism (PNC), the propensity of lineages to retain ancestral niche related traits. However, a recent paradigm shift focuses instead on measuring divergence of these traits in conjunction with patterns of speciation. Under this framework, w...

Abstract— Three Neotropical orchid species, Mormolyca dodsonii , Mormolyca cruentata , and Mormolyca prunina are described on the basis of molecular and morphological characters. Phylogenetic relationships are estimated using sequence data from five plastid loci (rpoC1, matK gene and flanking trnK intron, atpB-rbcL intergenic spacer, and the 3′ por...

Orchids are the most diverse family of angiosperms, with over 25 000 species, more than mammals, birds and reptiles combined. Tests of hypotheses to account for such diversity have been stymied by the lack of a fully resolved broad-scale phylogeny. Here, we provide such a phylogeny, based on 75 chloroplast genes for 39 species representing all orch...

Species delimitation in the genus Spiranthes L.C. Richard (Spiranthinae, Cranichideae, Orchidoideae) has long been problematic, due mainly to morpholog- ical polymorphism confounded by hybridization and polyploidy, particularly in the S. cernua (L.) Rich. species complex (Correll 1950, Luer 1975, Sheviak 1982).

As part of a broader phylogenetic study of the subfamily Monsteroideae we used three plastid and one nuclear markers to test the monophyly of the genus Spathiphyllum. Our results support the tribe Spathiphylleae as sister of the remaining Monsteroideae, and the monophyly of Spathiphyllum. The monotypic genus Holochlamys appears nested within Spathi...

Since the last classification of Orchidaceae in 2003, there has been major progress in the determination of relationships, and we present here a revised classification including a list of all 736 currently recognized genera. A number of generic changes have occurred in Orchideae (Orchidoideae), but the majority of changes have occurred in Epidendro...

The temperate East Asian genus Lycoris is a well known lineage of ornamental geophytes consisting of at least 20 species, some of which are thought to be of natural hybrid origin. Previous genetic studies have supported this hypothesis, but these have relied solely on the use of karyology and/or nuclear ribosomal ITS sequences. No plastid DNA data...

Unlabelled: • Premise of the study: Spiranthes is a genus of small terrestrial orchids that are most diverse in North America, yet unusually cosmopolitan, including many of conservation concern. Taxonomy based on morphology alone is problematic, but molecular evidence could help resolve evolutionary relationships within the genus. The phylogeny...

The Neotropical orchid genus Mormolyca Fenzl, as currently circumscribed, encompasses a diverse group of ca. 27species. Many of these were included traditionally in Maxillaria sect. Rufescens, when similarity of floral morphology was considered foremost in their classification rather than the evolutionary history of the taxa. In order to begin revi...

Smilacaceae, composed of Smilax and Heterosmilax, are a cosmopolitan family of > 200 species of mostly climbing monocots with alternate leaves characterized by reticulate venation, a pair of petiolar tendrils and usually prickly stems. Although there has been a long history of studying Smilax since Linnaeus named the genus in 1753, the phylogenetic...

Premise of the study: The genetic structure of North American herbaceous Smilax, a clade of closely related understory herbs that has a wide and disjunct distribution, was investigated to test the hypothesis of whether a northern refugium in the upper Midwest may have existed for these plants during the last glaciation. Methods: We analyzed 33 p...

Dracula trigonopetala, a proposed new Ecuadorian species in the Pleurothallidinae, is described. Affinities and taxonomic notes on this new species are presented.

GenBank staff is unable to verify sequence and/or annotation provided by the submitter. ##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: Geneious v. 4.8.3 Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

GenBank staff is unable to verify sequence and/or annotation provided by the submitter. ##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: Geneious v. 4.8.3 Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

GenBank staff is unable to verify sequence and/or annotation provided by the submitter. ##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: Geneious v. 4.8.3 Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

GenBank staff is unable to verify sequence and/or annotation provided by the submitter. ##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: Geneious v. 4.8.3 Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

A population of Smilax found in southeastern Yunnan was originally considered to be a local race of S. riparia with unusual woody, perennial stems, but its status as a distinct species is supported here by morphology, karyology, and molecular phylogenetics. This new species, Smilax ligneoriparia C.X. Fu & P. Li, shares several unique morphological...

Vanilloideae Among OrchidsDiversity within VanilloideaeOrigins and Age of VanilloideaeDiversity within VanillaSystematic Conclusions and ImplicationsReferences

Orchid classification has undergone a series of significant changes during the past decade as molecular phylogenetic studies have examined relationships at all taxonomic levels in the family. Today, the 750 genera and 25,000 species of Orchidaceae are organized into five subfamilies, the two largest of which (Epidendroideae and Orchidoideae) are fu...

Charles Darwin's work with orchids and his thoughts about them are of great interest and not a little pride for those who are interested in these plants, but they are generally less well known than some of his other studies and ideas. Much has been published on what led to his other books and views. However, there is a paucity of information in the...

DNA barcoding involves sequencing a standard region of DNA as a tool for species identification. However, there has been no agreement on which region(s) should be used for barcoding land plants. To provide a community recommendation on a standard plant barcode, we have compared the performance of 7 leading candidate plastid DNA regions (atpF–atpH s...

The Andes are a cradle of orchid evolution, but most phylogenetic studies of Orchidaceae in this biodiversity hotspot have dealt with epiphytic epidendroid lineages. Here we present a study on neotropical, terrestrial, orchidoid taxa of Prescottiinae s.l. (8 genera, ∼100 species), which are adapted to some of the highest elevation habitats on earth...

DNA barcoding involves sequencing a standard region of DNA as a tool for species identification. However, there has been no agreement on which region(s) should be used for barcoding land plants. To provide a community recommendation on a standard plant barcode, we have compared the performance of 7 leading candidate plastid DNA regions (atpF–atpH s...

Most molecular phylogenetic studies of Orchidaceae have relied heavily on DNA sequences from the plastid genome. Nuclear and mitochondrial loci have only been superficially examined for their systematic value. Since 40% of the genera within Vanilloideae are achlorophyllous mycoheterotrophs, this is an ideal group of orchids in which to evaluate non...

Phylogenetic relationships among 75 species of Lentibulariaceae, representing the three recognized genera, were assessed by cladistic analysis of DNA sequences from the plastid rps16 intron and the trnL-F region. Sequence data from the two loci were analyzed both separately and in combination. Consensus trees from all analyses are congruent, and pa...

New genetic information on the taxonomic status of an endangered species may have strong implications for its continued protection and that of other listed taxa with questionable species status. While analyzing a more comprehensive project on the molecular phylogeny of North American Spiranthes (Orchidaceae), lack of genetic differentiation between...

Absent in the wild, Tahitian vanilla (V. tahitensis) is a gourmet spice restricted in distribution to cultivated and feral stands in French Polynesia and Papua New Guinea. Its origins have been elusive. Our objective was to test the purported hybrid derivation and parentage of V. tahitensis from aromatic, neotropical progenitors. Nucleotide sequenc...