The genus Pedicularis comprises approximately 600 species, and as such is the largest genus of Orobanchaceae (Lamiales). Species of Pedicularis are biennial or perennial hemiparasitic herbs, and are primarily distributed in mountain ranges throughout the North Temperate zone. More than 350 species are recorded in the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains, with some 75% of these species endemic. Striking interspecific variations in floral traits of the large temperate genus Pedicularis have given rise to controversies concerning infra-generic classifications. To date, phylogenetic relationships within the genus have not been well resolved. Together with researchers from Kunming Institute of Botany (KIB), Field Museum of Natural History and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Dr. Wen-Bin Yu sequenced nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) and three plastid regions (matK, rbcL and trnL-F) from 257 species of Pedicularis to reconstruct a comprehensive phylogeny of this genus. Both Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods resolved 13 well-supported clades, although the backbone of the tree is poorly resolved. There is little consensus between the phylogenetic tree and Tsoong’s classification (1955-1963) of Pedicularis. Only two of the 13 groups (15.4 %), and 19 of the 56 series (33.9 %) with more than one sampled species were found to be strictly monophyletic. Most opposite-/whorled-leaved species fall into a single clade, i.e. clade 1, while alternate leaves species occur in the remaining 12 clades. Excluding the widespread P. verticillata in clade 1, species from Europe and North America fall into clades 6–8. Our results suggest that combinations of morphological and geographic characters associated with strongly supported clades are needed to elucidate a comprehensive global phylogeny of Pedicularis. In the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains, geographical barriers may have facilitated diversification of species with long corolla tubes, and the reproductive advantages of beakless galeas in opposite-/whorled-leaved species may boost speciation at high altitude. The study entitled “Towards a comprehensive phylogeny of the large temperate genus Pedicularis (Orobanchaceae), with an emphasis on species from the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains” has been published in BMC Plant Biology (2015, 15:176).
Pedicularis spp. are primarily pollinated by foraging bumblebees (Bombus spp.). In general, corolla forms are highly associated with pollinator foraging position, which can be nototribical (upright) and/or sternotribical (inverted). In Pedicularis, nectar production is generally associated with beak length and pollinator foraging behaviour. However, the evolutionary history of nectary morphology in Pedicularis is not clear that caused by the lacking of anatomical studies and well-resolved phylogenetic trees. Meanwhile, correlations between nectar production and beak length/pollinator behaviour and between nectary presence/type and beak length/pollinator behaviour need to be investigated in a phylogenetic framework. Researchers from KIB and Dr. Wen-Bin Yu studied 39 differentially pollinated Pedicularis from the Hengduan Mountains. Anatomical and scanning electron microscopy observations revealed two nectary forms [bulged (N = 27) or elongated (N = 5)] or the absence of nectaries (N = 7). In a phylogenetic context, our data suggest that: (1) the bulged nectary should be the ancestral state; (2) nectaries were independently lost in some beaked species; and (3) elongated nectaries evolved independently in some clades of beakless species. Phylogenetic path analysis showed that nectary presence is indirectly correlated with beak length/pollinator behaviour through an intermediate factor, nectar production. No significant correlation was found between nectary type and nectar production, beak length or pollinator behaviour. Some beaked species had nectary structures, although they did not produce nectar. The nectary in beaked species may be a vestigial structure retained during a recent rapid radiation of Pedicularis, especially in the Himalaya–Hengduan Mountains of south-western China. This study entitled “Floral nectary morphology and evolution in Pedicularis (Orobanchaceae)” has been published in Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society (2015, 178: 592–607).
Pedicularis wanghongiae M.L.Liu & W.B.Yu, a new species from Gaoligong Mountains in Yunnan Province, southwestern China. Morphologically, this new species should be placed in Pedicularis series Paucifoliatae Prain according to Tsoong’s classification. Molecular phylogenetic analyses using four DNA loci (ITS, matK, rbcL and trnL-F) support the delimitation of this new species. The species epithet honors Prof. & Dr. Hong Wang, Kunming Institute of Botany, CAS, who has been working on the taxonomy and systematics of Pedicularis for 24 years. This study entitled “Pedicularis wanghongiae (Orobanchaceae), a new species from Yunnan, southwestern China” has been published in Phytotaxa (2015, 217: 53-62).
These studies were supported by grants from the National Key Basic Research Program of China (2014CB954100), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grants 31470323, 31200185, 30970201 and 30570115), the Major International Joint Research Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China (31320103919), the 1000 Talents Program (WQ20110491035), and the West Light Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Y2227111W1).
Contact:
Dr. Wen-Bin Yu, Associate Professor
Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China
E-mail: yuwenbin@xtbg.ac.cn, wenbin.yu.botany@gmail.com
