Abstract Detail

Systematics Section/ASPT

Bruederle, Leo [1], Bourret, Tayvia [1], Ray, Devin [2], Starr, Julian [3].

Systematics of Carex magellanica Lam. (Cyperaceae), a bipolar sedge.

Carex magellanica Lam. (Cyperaceae) is one of 30 flowering plant species that exhibit a bipolar distribution, occurring in the extremes of the northern and southern hemispheres. Carex magellanica subsp. irrigua (Wahlenb.) Hiitonen, occurs in sphagnum wetlands of alpine regions in the northern hemisphere and is circumboreal, with the southernmost limit reaching Colorado. Carex magellanica subsp. magellanica, occurs in sphagnum wetlands of alpine regions in the southern hemisphere in southern Argentina and Chile. Here, we use DNA sequence data collected for two nuclear and four chloroplast regions, coupled with morphological data to examine the systematic relationships of the two taxa within Carex section Limosae. Phylogenetic analyses reveal a well-supported monophyletic Carex magellanica subsp. magellanica, which has arisen from within a paraphyletic Carex magellanica subsp. irrigua. These data further suggest that the two taxa should be recognized at the species level, which is also supported on the basis of both vegetative and reproductive morphology. Carex magellanica subsp. magellanica appears to have differentiated following long-distance dispersal from the northern hemisphere, possibly involving a single dispersal event.

Broader Impacts:

1 - University of Colorado Denver, Integrative Biology, Campus Box 171, Denver, CO, 80217-3364, USA
2 - The Ohio State University, Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, 318 West 12th Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210-1293
3 - University of Ottawa, Department of Biology, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada

Keywords:
Carex
Cyperaceae
Systematics
bipolar distribtuion.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 48
Location: Elmwood/Riverside Hilton
Date: Wednesday, July 31st, 2013
Time: 4:15 PM
Number: 48011
Abstract ID:737
Candidate for Awards:None