PHYLOGENETIC-RELATIONSHIPS IN ANEMONE (RANUNCULACEAE) BASED ON MORPHOLOGY AND CHLOROPLAST DNA

Phylogenetic relationships of 36 species of Anemone (Ranunculaceae) and seven related genera were explored with three independent data sets: chloroplast DNA restriction sites, nuclear ribosomal DNA restriction fragments, and morphological/cytological variation. In the chloroplast DNA work, 245 phylogenetically informative restriction sites were identified using ten restriction enzymes. The phylogeny based on conventional data was derived from 27 characters for the same taxa used in the molecular work. A subset of species complexes was examined with additional chloroplast and nuclear ribosomal DNA data. Molecular and morphological characters established Clematis as the most suitable outgroup for the phylogenetic analyses. Many of the terminal groups of the cladograms resulting from the molecular and morphological data sets were similar, but basal branching patterns were substantially different. Because the molecular tree was substantially less homoplastic and had higher bootstrap and decay values than the morphological tree, it was accepted as the more reliable in determining basal relationships. Both morphological and chloroplast DNA phylogenies demonstrate that few of the sections of Anemone as established by previous classifications are monophyletic. The phylogenies based on chloroplast DNA restriction sites and the combined data sets indicate that Pulsatilla, Hepatica, and Knowltonia should be subsumed within Anemone. Various morphological characters indicate that Barneoudia and Oreithales should also be included within the genus Anemone. Independent data sets provide phylogenetic hypotheses useful in interpretations of character evolution. A preliminary, revised classification is proposed. Several hypotheses are offered to explain the unusual geographic distributions found in Anemone.