Ilse Breitwieser

Composition of the New Zealand seed plant flora.

Abstract Statistics for the composition of the New Zealand seed plant flora are presented. The information provided is based on the number of wild speties listed in the New Zealand Plant Names Database Landcare Research‘ New Zealand‘ The statistics include the number of wild species, genera, and families; the number of species in the largest genera and families; and species numbers according to biostatus categories.

Phylogenetic relationships in Australasian Gnaphalieae (Compositae) inferred from ITS sequences

Abstract Analyses of ITS sequences of Australasian Gnaphalieae reveal at least six distinct lineages of Gnaphalieae in New Zealand. Our results suggest that the New Zealand species of Craspedia form a monophyletic group, which originated in Australia. The stoloniferous species of Euchiton are clearly separated from the non‐stoloniferous species. They are not closely related to any other New Zealand gnaphalioid taxon. The Australian species of Ewartia are a polyphyletic group and are not closely related to the sole New Zealand species, Ewartia sinclairii. An almost endemic New Zealand Glade consists of species currently included in Anaphalioides, Ewartia, Helichrysum, Leucogenes, Rachelia, and Raoulia. It appears that the New Zealand Glade diversified rapidly soon after the arrival of its ancestor in New Zealand. The relationships of Ozothamnus leptophyllus are poorly resolved. Pseudognaphalium luteoalbum emerges with mainly Asian and South American Gnaphalieae.

Checklist of dicotyledons, gymnosperms, and pteridophytes naturalised or casual in New Zealand: Additional records 1997–1998

Abstract New records of fully naturalised and casual plants are reported for the flora of New Zealand during the 3‐year period 2001–2003. Ten species are reported as additional or newly substantiated fully naturalised, 92 taxa are considered to be new records of casual plants, and 13 additional species that were previously known from few collections are given extended distributions.

Phylogenetic relationships of New Zealand Asteraceae inferred from ITS sequences

Abstract. Forty-five sequences from members of all genera of Asteraceae indigenous to New Zealand and 50 published sequences representing the tribal diversity in the family were analyzed to assess the utility of ITS sequences to resolve phylogenetic relationships. Previous studies using chloroplast DNA sequences and morphology provided support for several clades in the Asteraceae, yet the relationships among some of these were uncertain. The results from ITS analysis were largely consistent with these earlier studies. The New Zealand species are included in at least six clades, most of these corresponding to recognized tribes. Our results have also clarified the tribal affinities of a few anomalous genera. Haastia, previously aligned with the Gnaphalieae or the Astereae, is nested in the Senecioneae. Centipeda, previously included in the Astereae or Anthemideae, emerges near the Heliantheae. The relationships of Abrotanella remain unresolved.

Evolution and biogeography of Pleurophyllum (Astereae, Asteraceae), a small genus of megaherbs endemic to the subantarctic islands

PREMISE OF THE STUDY The abundance of fossils in Antarctica suggests this continent was a center of diversification and a corridor for migration for many austral plant groups until the late Tertiary and may have played a pivotal role in shaping plant distributions in the southern hemisphere. Although the Antarctic flora was largely erased by glaciation during the Pleistocene, at least some Antarctic plant species found refuge on the subantarctic islands. METHODS We used independent and combined analyses of ITS, ETS, trnK, and trnL DNA sequences to infer phylogenetic relations in Pleurophyllum, a small genus of three species that are endemic to the subantarctic islands of Australia and New Zealand. The inferred phylogeny provided a framework to reconstruct the origin and patterns of diversification in the genus. KEY RESULTS We summarize support for the hypothesis that Pleurophyllum survived episodes of Pleistocene glaciation in the subantarctic islands and that its sisters dispersed northward in response to glacial advance. CONCLUSIONS The distinctive flora of the subantarctic islands includes some of the last remnants of a once-diverse Antarctic flora. These plants may still retain distinctive features of their ancestors. Studies of endemic plants such as Pleurophyllum are the key to resolving this puzzle.

Phylogeny and Classification of Brachyglottis (Senecioneae, Asteraceae): An Example of a Rapid Species Radiation in New Zealand

Abstract Phylogenetic analyses of ITS and 5′ trnK/matK spacer sequences were undertaken for 39 species representing the range of morphological variation in the genus Brachyglottis and putative outgroups. Independent analyses of the sequence data were largely congruent, and when combined provided stronger support for relationships. The results suggest that Brachyglottis as currently circumscribed is paraphyletic. However, a more inclusive monophyletic group was supported that consists of the genera Bedfordia, Brachyglottis, Dolichoglottis, Haastia, and Traversia. Short branch lengths suggest that there has been a spectacular adaptive radiation of the Brachyglottis alliance in recent times. The species are morphologically diverse and occupy a wide range of ecological niches in New Zealand, yet exhibit very little sequence variation.

Phylogenetic implications of trans-specific chloroplast DNA sequence polymorphism in New Zealand Gnaphalieae (Asteraceae)

Abstract.The New Zealand endemic species of Gnaphalieae (Asteraceae) present a bewildering array of morphological forms recalcitrant to phylogenetic analysis using molecular or traditional characters. The chloroplast psbA-trnH intergenic spacer is highly variable in this group, with substitutions distinguishing 18 cpDNA haplotypes distributed among samples of Raoulia species and those of related genera. A subset of haplotypes was combined with sequences of the more slowly evolving trnL intron and trnL-trnF intergenic spacer region and subjected to median network and parsimony analyses. Although a number of chloroplast lineages were resolved, these do not correspond with taxonomic units, nor with groups supported by analysis of morphological characters, nor with groups indicated by nuclear rDNA ITS sequences. These data, considered in the context of morphological character state distribution in the group, suggest a complex set of interrelationships among extant species and genera as currently circumscribed. General implications for phylogeny reconstruction are discussed.

Use of ISSR profiles and ITS-sequences to study the biogeography of alpine cushion plants in the genus Raoulia (Asteraceae)

AbstractNuclear ITS sequences and ISSR profiles provide evidence that Raoulia rubra is endemic to the Tararua Range in the southern part of the North Island of New Zealand. Populations in the South Island previously ascribed to R. rubra are better ascribed to R. eximia. Our findings suggest that glaciation of the central mountains of the South Island during the last ice age have had a major impact on the evolution of the South Island cushion Raoulia species in New Zealand. However, simple hypotheses accounting for the effect of Pleistocene climate change are insufficient to explain patterns of endemism in the group.

Phylogeny and biogeography of Craspedia (Asteraceae: Gnaphalieae) based on ITS, ETS and psbA-trnH sequence data

A phylogenetic analysis based on a combined dataset of three genes, nuclear 18S rDNA and plastid rbcL and atpB, indicates that the enigmatic Neotropical genus Metteniusa is a member of the lamiid (euasterid I) clade. The genus appears as an isolated taxon near, but perhaps not related exclusively to, Oncothecaceae, which supports its recognition as a separate family.

Phylogeny, biogeography, and evolution of sex expression in the southern hemisphere genus Leptinella (Compositae, Anthemideae)

Leptinella is exceptional in the Anthemideae (Compositae) in its evolution of dimorphic sex expression. A molecular phylogeny including 40 of its 42 described taxa based on nucleotide sequences from two plastid regions (psbA-trnH and trnC-petN spacers) and one nuclear marker (nrDNA ITS) is presented. Phylogenetic reconstruction was hampered by inadequate phylogenetic signal indicating recent radiation of species during the last 5 Ma and high level of reticulate evolution presumably caused by hybridisation and polyploidisation. Nevertheless, Leptinella is nested within a paraphyletic genus Cotula that also engulfs the South American genus Soliva. Within Leptinella, the highly polyploid and sexually polymorphic subgenus Leptinella is monophyletic, while subgenus Oligoleima as well as subgenus Radiata are polyphyletic. We found a basal split between a lineage of Australian and New Guinean taxa and one of largely New Zealand taxa. At least five long-distance dispersal events have to be assumed in order to explain the distribution pattern in Leptinella. Among those, one is from New Zealand to Australia, while the others are dispersals to South America and to several subantarctic islands. The phylogeny presented here indicates that the ancestral sex expression in Leptinella is monoecy and that dioecy and paradioecy are derived conditions. High ploidy is especially common in the dioica-group, where dioecy is also common. However, the occurrence of a dioecious sex expression in tetraploid representatives of this group and of polyploidy in other clades that only exhibit monoecious or paradioecious conditions indicate that there is no consistent correlation between these two characters.