Phylogenetic approaches resolve taxonomical confusion in Pedicularis (Orobanchaceae): Reinstatement of Pedicularis delavayi and discovering a new species Pedicularis milliana

PLoS One. 2018 Jul 25;13(7):e0200372. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0200372. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Morphological identification of Pedicularis depends on floral characters. However, some important characters may be lost during the process of pressing the specimen. Pedicularis delavayi was described from northwestern Yunnan, and widely adopted as a variety of P. siphonantha. Unfortunately, the name "P. siphonantha var. delavayi' incorrectly referred to P. milliana (a new species described in this study) or P. tenuituba in some herbarium specimens and publications. Moreover, phylogenetic relationships among P. delavayi, P. siphonantha and its allies (P. milliana and P. tenuituba) were not fully resolved. In this study, we sampled 76 individuals representing 56 taxa. Of them, 10 taxa were from P. siphonantha lineage, and 11 individuals of P. delavayi represented 9 populations. These species were named as P. siphonantha group on the basis of morphological similarity. Nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) and four chloroplast genes/regions were used for phylogenetic analyses. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the P. siphonantha group was polyphyletic: P. delavayi was sister to P. obliquigaleata in clade A; and the remaining species of P. siphonantha group were monophyletic in clade B, named as P. siphonantha lineage. In the P. siphonantha lineage, P. milliana, P. siphonantha, and P. tenuituba were well supported as monophyletic, and P. dolichosiphon was sister to P. leptosiphon. Morphologically, P. delavayi differs from species of the P. siphonantha lineage in having a long petiole (~ 50 mm) and pedicel (~ 40 mm), a ridged corolla tube, and a folded lower-lip of the corolla. Therefore, both morphological characters and phylogenetic evidence strongly supported to reinstate P. delavayi as an independent species and describe P. milliana as new species. In addition, P. neolatituba was proposed to reduce as a new synonymy of P. delavayi.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biological Evolution
  • Flowers / anatomy & histology
  • Flowers / genetics
  • Pedicularis / anatomy & histology
  • Pedicularis / classification*
  • Pedicularis / genetics
  • Phylogeny
  • Plant Leaves / anatomy & histology
  • Plant Leaves / genetics
  • Species Specificity

Grants and funding

This study is supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grants 31470323, and 31200185), the National Key Basic Research Program of China (2014CB954100), the Major International Joint Research Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China (31320103919), the West Light Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Y2227111W1), Visiting Scholar Fellowship of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the research project of the Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences: “Collections of vascular plants in BIN RAS (history, conservation, study and replenishment).