Abstract Detail

Biodiversity Informatics & Herbarium Digitization

Brindley, Josh [1], Hufford, Larry [2].

Floral diversity of Eucnide (Loasaceae).

Eucnide is a small genus of flowering plants in the family Loasaceae consisting of 11-17 species distributed in the southwest United States, Mexico, and Guatemala. While a relatively small genus, Eucnide has a wide range of flower colors and architectures. Thompson & Ernst (1967) have suggested that the floral diversity in Eucnide is associated with adjustments to specific pollination syndromes, but no extensive pollination studies have been performed. Other studies of the genus used morphological data in phylogenetic studies to infer relationships among species of Eucnide, however, those studies did not result in well supported clades (Hufford 1988a, 1988b, 1988c). Our goal is to use DNA sequence data to test those earlier results and to search for more robust support for clades. Using the phylogeny inferred from our preliminary results we provide ancestral state reconstructions of two floral characters – petal color and floral architecture - to examine the evolution of floral diversity in Eucnide. Maximum-likelihood ancestral state reconstructions of floral traits suggests that ancestral Eucnide was likely yellow and narrowly cylindrical with imbricate petals, but poor resolution along the backbone of the phylogeny may adversely affect these findings. Additionally, both floral characters analyzed exhibit substantial homoplasy with white flowers, as well as funnel form and rotate corollas, all arising multiple time. Moving forward, additional molecular markers need to be sequenced to provide more resolution to the phylogeny.

1 - Washington State University, School of Biological Sciences, PO Box 644236, Pullman , Washington , 99163, USA
2 - Washington State University, SCHOOL OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, 312 Abelson Hall, PULLMAN, WA, 99164-4236, USA

Keywords:
floral evolution.

Presentation Type: Poster
Session: P, Biodiversity Informatics & Herbarium Digitization
Location: Exhibit Hall/Omni Hotel
Date: Monday, June 26th, 2017
Time: 5:30 PM This poster will be presented at 5:30 pm. The Poster Session runs from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Posters with odd poster numbers are presented at 5:30 pm, and posters with even poster numbers are presented at 6:15 pm.
Number: PBI003
Abstract ID:391
Candidate for Awards:None