P. Eldenäs’s research while affiliated with Swedish Museum of Natural History and other places

The small genus Chrysanthemoides comprises two species within which a number of infraspecific taxa have been recognized, some of which are invasive aliens in Australia and New Zealand. Here we investigate the relationships of the species and infraspecific taxa using both chloroplast and nuclear non-coding DNA sequence data. Results of the analyses of the plastid and nuclear data sets are incongruent, and neither Chrysanthemoides nor Osteospermum is resolved as monophyletic, although there is some support for the recognition of infraspecific taxa. Analyses of the separate and combined data sets resolve two clades within Chrysanthemoides (which include some species of Osteospermum), and these appear to have a geographic basis, one being restricted to the mainly winter rainfall region, the other the eastern bi-seasonal rainfall area. Our results suggest that there is evidence of past or ongoing hybridization within and possibly between these two lineages.

Twenty-nine genera of the tribe Anthemideae (Compositae) (111 genera, ca. 1,800 species) are either restricted to or have their distributional centre in the S hemisphere. We here present a phylogenetic study based on nrDNA ITS and cpDNA ndhF sequence variation for a complete generic sampling of this S hemisphere group of the tribe with its paramount importance for the understanding of the evolutionary history of this plant group. Our results corroborate the paraphyletic nature of the S hemisphere group of Anthemideae as a whole and of the four subtribes (Ursiniinae, Gonosperminae, Thaminophyllinae, Matricariinae) erected by Bremer and Humphries (1993) to accommodate its members. We further show that the genus Osmitopsis and the Cotula- group hold a basal position in the tribe. Members of the subtribe Ursiniinae (that is characterised by the possession of anthers with polarised endothecial tissue) form a paraphyletic group that may, together with a strongly supported monophyletic group around the genus Pentzia, contain the sister group(s) of the Asian and Mediterranean clades of the tribe. As a consequence of the non-monophyletic nature of the subtribes according to Bremer and Humphries (1993), we discuss an alternative generic grouping of the S hemisphere Anthemideae.

A molecular study of the wetland pleurocarpous moss Hamatocaulis vernicosus (Mitt.) Hedenäs, based on the ITS region, the trnL-trnF region, and rpl16 revealed two cryptic species. One of these is widespread in Europe, and was also sampled from several localities in Minnesota (United States). The other cryptic species occurs only south of the boreal zone in Europe, and was in addition sampled from single localities in Peru and northernmost Asiatic Russian Federation. Although it seems likely that the southern species colonized parts of Europe from southern refugia after the last glaciation, its wide distribution outside Europe indicates that the speciation event is unrelated to the European glacial history. No correlations could be found between variation in habitat preferences (pH and electric conductivity) and molecular variation.

The phylogenetic relationships between the tribes Inuleae sensu stricto and Plucheeae are investigated by analysis of sequence data from the cpDNA gene ndhF. The delimitation between the two tribes is elucidated, and the systematic positions of a number of genera associated with these groups, i.e. genera with either aberrant morphological characters or a debated systematic position, are clarified. Together, the Inuleae and Plucheeae form a monophyletic group in which the majority of genera of Inuleae s.str. form one clade, and all the taxa from the Plucheeae together with the genera Antiphiona, Calostephane, Geigeria, Ondetia, Pechuel-loeschea, Pegolettia, and Iphionopsis from Inuleae s.str. form another. Members of the Plucheeae are nested with genera of the Inuleae s.str., and support for the Plucheeae clade is weak. Consequently, the latter cannot be maintained and the two groups are treated as one tribe, Inuleae, with the two subtribes Inulinae and Plucheinae. The genera Asteriscus, Chrysophthalmum, Inula, Laggera, Pentanema, Pluchea, and Pulicaria are demonstrated to be non-monophyletic. Cratystylis and Iphionopsis are found to belong to the same clade as the taxa of the former Plucheeae. Caesulia is shown to be a close relative of Duhaldea and Blumea of the Inuleae-Inulinae. The genera Callilepis and Zoutpansbergia belong to the major clade of the family that includes the tribes Heliantheae sensu lato and Inuleae (incl. Plucheeae), but their exact position remains unresolved. The genus Gymnarrhena is not part of the Inuleae, but is either part of the unresolved basal complex of the paraphyletic Cichorioideae, or sister to the entire Asteroideae.

Phylogeny of the Calliergonaceae is reconstructed based on nuclear and chloroplast sequence data, and morphology. Depending on treatment of insertions and deletions, the total number of informative characters was 194 or 163. The study yielded good support for two major clades, one with Hamatocaulis, Scorpidium, and possibly Hygrohypnum ochraceum (Wils.) Loeske, and one with Calliergon, Loeskypnum, Straminergon, and Warnstorfia. Inclusion of H. ochraceum in the ingroup increased tree length, markedly decreased consistency and retention indices, and decreased support for the structure of the Hamatocaulis-Scorpidium clade, and its position within the family is challenged. When H. ochraceum was excluded, good support is found for the genera Hamatocaulis and Scorpidium. Within the other major subclade the monophyly of a clade with Loeskypnum, Straminergon, and Warnstorfia, of a portion of Calliergon, and of Warnstorfia fluitans plus W. pseudostraminea are well supported.

Karis, P. O., Eldenäs, P. & Källersjö, M.: New evidence for the systematic position of Gundelia L. with notes on delimitation of Arctoteae ( Asteraceae ). – Taxon 50: 105–114. 2001. – ISSN 0040‐0262. The systematic position of the thistle‐like Gundelia of Asteraceae‐Arctoteae is investigated by using sequences from the chloroplast gene ndhF in a parsimony jackknife analysis. Unexpectedly, the analysis indicates strong support for placing Gundelia with tribe Lactuceae, rather than with tribe Arctoteae. Gundelia's morphology is discussed in light of this new grouping. Another clade, although weakly supported, is formed by representatives of Arctoteae, including the two South African genera Eremothamnus and Hoplophyllum. The latter two form a sister group with 100 % support.

DNA sequences from chloroplast gene ndhF were investigated in 15 species in tribes Inuleae Cass. s. str., Plucheeae (Benth.) A. Anderb., and Gnaphalieae Benth. (Asteraceae) and combined with 90 ndhF sequences from GenBank to evaluate the circumscription of the putative sister tribes Inuleae and Plucheeae. The data were subjected to phylogenetic analysis using parsimony jackknifing. The results are presented in a cladogram and discussed in comparison to previous analyses of both molecular and morphological data. The interpretations of specific diagnostic characters are also discussed. The majority of genera from Inuleae s. str. and Plucheeae comprise a monophyletic group, sister to the Heliantheae s. l. -Blepharispermum-Athroisma group. The genera of the Gnaphalieae belong to a different monophyletic group within the family that also includes tribes Anthemideae, Astereae, and Calenduleae. Within the Inuleae-Plucheeae complex, two well-supported subclades were identified, one corresponding to the Inuleae s. str. and the second to the Plucheeae. Three genera, Antiphiona, Pegolettia, and Geigeria, were outside of both tribes and were part of an unresolved polytomy at the base of the Inuleae-Plucheeae clade. Anisopappus, hitherto considered a member of Inuleae s. str., was found to be part of the Heliantheae-Athroisma-Blepharispermum clade. As discussed, the results of previous phylogenetic analyses, presenting Anisopappus as the basalmost taxon of Inuleae s. str., may be due to inadequate sampling.

The sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of 18S–26S nrDNA for a sample of 16 taxa from theInuleae s. str. and two outgroup taxa are analysed cladistically with PAUP. A consensus tree of the four most parsimonious cladograms is presented. Three different tests of cladogram stability are conducted (Bremer support, parsimony jackknifing and bootstrapping); all tests indicate a high degree of support for the basal nodes of the tree. The ITS phylogeny of the tribe is compared with previous hypotheses based on morphological data. The position ofAnisopappus as sister group to the rest of the tribe is supported by the molecular data, but the proposed subdivision ofInuleae s. str. into a paleate grade group and an epaleate clade is not. The interpretation of the character evolution of, e.g. receptacular paleae and pappus features within the tribe is discussed.