Plant Diversity ›› 2024, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (02): 206-218.DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2023.11.002

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Circumscription of the East Asia clade (Apiaceae subfamily Apioideae) and the taxonomic placements of several problematic genera

Jing Zhoua,f, Xinyue Wanga, Shilin Zhoua, Junmei Niua, Jiarui Yuea, Zhenwen Liub,c,d, Stephen R. Downiee   

  1. a. School of Pharmaceutical Science and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Pharmacology for Natural Products, Kunming Medical University, 1168 Western Chunrong Road, Yuhua Street, Chenggong New City, Kunming 650500, China;
    b. Yunnan Academy of Forestry and Grassland, Kunming 650201, China;
    c. Gaoligong Mountain, Forest Ecosystem, Observation and Research Station of Yunnan Province, Kunming 650201, China;
    d. Yunnan Key Laboratory of Biodiversity of Gaoligong Mountain, Kunming 650201, China;
    e. Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA;
    f. College of Modern Biomedical Industry, Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650500, China
  • Received:2023-07-16 Revised:2023-11-18 Online:2024-03-25 Published:2024-04-07
  • Contact: Zhenwen Liu,E-mail:liuzw2021@163.com
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 31960048 and 31872649), Yunnan Revitalization Talent Support Program (no. YNWRQNBJ-2019-208), the Department of Science and Technology of Yunnan Province (no. 202201AT070118), the Hundred Talents Program of Kunming Medical University (no. 60118260127), and the Gaoligong Mountain, Forest Ecosystem, Observation and Research Station of Yunnan Province (no. 202205AM070006). We thank three anonymous reviewers for valuable, constructive comments that helped improve the manuscript.

Abstract: The East Asia (or Physospermopsis) clade was recognized in previous molecular phylogenetic investigations into the higher-level relationships of Apiaceae subfamily Apioideae. The composition of this clade, the phylogenetic relationships among its constituent taxa, and the placement of species previously determined to be problematic have yet to be resolved. Herein, nrDNA ITS sequences were obtained for 150 accessions of Apioideae, representing species whose distributions are in East Asia or genera having one or more species included within the East Asia clade. These data, along with published ITS sequences from other Apioideae (for 3678 accessions altogether), were subjected to maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses. The results show that the East Asia clade contains representatives of 11 currently recognized genera: Hansenia, Hymenolaena, Keraymonia, Sinolimprichtia, Acronema, Hymenidium, Physospermopsis, Pimpinella, Sinocarum, Tongoloa, and Trachydium. However, the latter seven genera have members falling outside of the East Asia clade, including the generic types of all except Tongoloa. Within the clade, the species comprising these seven genera are widely intermingled, greatly increasing confusion among relationships than previously realized. The problematic species Physospermopsis cuneata is confirmed as falling within the East Asia clade, whereas P. rubrinervis allies with the generic type in tribe Pleurospermeae. Physospermopsis kingdon-wardii is confirmed as a member of the genus Physospermopsis, whereas the generic attributions of P. cuneata and Tongoloa stewardii remain unclear. Two species of Sinocarum (S. filicinum and S. wolffianum) are transferred into the genus Meeboldia. This is the most comprehensive molecular phylogenetic investigation of the East Asia clade to date, and while the results increase systematic understanding of the clade, they also highlight the need for further studies of one of the most taxonomically intractable groups in Apioideae.

Key words: Physospermopsis, Pimpinella, Sinocarum, Tongoloa, Trachydium