Genetic and Taxonomic Studies in Gilia: X. Conspectus of the Subgenus Gilia

Abstract

The genus Gilia can be divided into four major groups worthy of subgeneric rank. These groups are: (1) the subgenus Greeneophila of Brand, comprising Gilia rigidula and its relatives; (2) Giliandra, treated as a setcion by Gray, and including Gilia pinnatifida, G. stenothyrsa, C. leptomeria and related species; (3) the subgenus Campanulastrum (Brand) Mason and A. Grant, which includes the Gilia campanulata complex; and (4) the subgenus Gilia. The latter, which is the largest and systematically the most complex of the subgenera, may be further subdivided into four natural sections: Gilia, Saltugilia, Gilmania, and Araclmion. It is not the purpose of this paper to discuss the reasons for the classification outlined above, which differs markedly from that of previous authors. This aspect is being dealt with separately in Sy.rtematic Botany and Phytogeography of the Phlox Family (V. Grant, ms. in preparation). The present paper is intended rather to present in outline form a general classification of the subgenus Gilia, as it is now understood, together with certain supplementary notes concerning the individual species. KEY TO THE SECTIONS OF SUBGENUS GILIA

Chromosome-Scale Genome Assembly of Gilia yorkii Enables Genetic Mapping of Floral Traits in an Interspecies Cross

“…Although the Polemoniaceae includes some popular horticultural species such as Phlox , it lacks any food or forage species which likely accounts for the previous lack of attention at the genomic level. The diverse ecology and morphology represented by members of the genus Gilia have made it an attractive model for multiple evolutionary studies ( Schoen 1982 , 1983 ; Morrell and Rieseberg 1998 ; Morrell et al 2000 ; Takebayashi et al 2006 ), and the leafy-stemmed gilias in particular were a classic model for Verne and Alva Grant’s pioneering work on plant evolution and speciation ( Grant 1950 , 1952 , 1953 , 1954 , 1956 , 1966 , 1981 ; Grant and Grant 1956 ). The complete Gilia yorkii genome reference will facilitate re-analysis of multiple questions in this group with modern genetic approaches.…”

“…The ability to make wide hybrids is common in many plant lineages, and pioneering work examining the genetic basis of ecological and morphological differences among closely related species ( Clausen and Hiesey 1958 ; Grant 1981 ) can now be revisited with the increased resolution of modern genomic and molecular approaches. Among these early studies, work on the leafy-stemmed gilias ( Gilia section Gilia , Polemoniaceae) stands out ( Grant and Grant 1956 ). Leafy-stemmed gilias are mostly diploid annuals native to western North and South America, grow readily in greenhouse conditions, hybridize easily, and are polymorphic for a diverse array of morphological traits ( Grant 1954 ).…”