Phylogenetic Relationships
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| A summary of the consensus of 10,000 parsimonious cladograms based on the combination of trnL-F, rpl16, and internal transcribed spacer sequences from the taxa used in the analysis. Heterosmilax japonica and S. tsinchengshanensis were used as the outgroup. Some species were represented by multiple populations; * indicates a species that appears twice, suggesting polyphyly. |
Cladistic analysis among several members of the section was carried out in 2005 on several gene sequences, including the plastid trnL-F and rpl16 sequences and the nuclear internal transcribed spacer. The eastern North American species in the morphologically variable S. herbacea complex form a sister group to the western North American S. jamesii. The analysis did not conclusively clarify whether the S. herbacea complex should be recognized as different species. The two East Asian species, S. riparia and S. nipponica, formed two well-defined clades. It is hypothesized that the ancestor of this section evolved in Asia and spread to North America via the Bering Strait land bridge.
Read more about this topic: Smilax Sect. Nemexia