Carduncellus-Carthamus Complex (Asteraceae) Based on ITS Sequences
Plant Syst. Evol. 221:89-105 (2000) Plant Systematics and Evolution © Springer-Verlag 2000 Printed in Austria Generic delimitation and phylogeny of the Carduncellus-Carthamus complex (Asteraceae) based on ITS sequences R. Vilatersana, A. Susanna, N. Garcia-Jacas, and T. Garnatje Institut Botfinic de Barcelona (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain Received August 18, 1999 Accepted October 21, 1999 Abstract. Within the Mediterranean complex 50 species (Dittrich 1977). These two genera Carduncellus-Carthamus, taxonomic classification share a native distribution ranging from the has proven problematic. Numerous attempts to Iberian Peninsula and Morocco to West Asia, clarify the relative systematic boundaries have but the core of Carduncellus centers in the included splitting Carduncellus and Cartharnus western Mediterranean (Iberian Peninsula and into several genera, but none of these proposed North Africa, eastward to Greece and Egypt), classifications have been generally accepted. For a comprehensive resolution of the relationships while Carthamus centers in the eastern Medi- within this group, we used sequences of the terranean Basin, except for a small section Internal Transcribed Spacers (ITS) of nuclear endemic to southern Spain and Morocco ribosomal DNA. The results indicate that the (Fig. 1). complex should be classified into four genera: In addition, some species such as Car- Carduncellus, Carthamus, Ferneniasia and Phonus. tharnus lanatus L., probably of hybrid origin, The relationship between the western group and Carthamus leucocaulos Sibth. & Sm. are (Carduncellus, Femeniasia and Phonus) and the widely naturalized as noxious weeds in the eastern genus Carthamus are not resolved by western Mediterranean region, as well as in analysis of ITS sequences, but the two groups Mediterranean climatic regions of Argentina, are probably not close relatives.
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