Nuclear ITS Sequences Help Disentangle Phyllanthus reticulatus (Phyllanthaceae), an Asian Species not Occurring in Africa, but Introduced to Jamaica

Abstract

Phyllanthus comprises approximately 1,270 species, making it one of the world's largest plant genera. Molecular data so far are of limited value for understanding Phylianthus because of the sheer size of the genus. They can, however, help sort-out cryptic species and provide information on the origin of suspected introduced species. One of the seemingly most widespread species is P. reticulatus, which has been recorded from Asia, Australia, Africa, and Jamaica. The name is based on a mixed collection from tropical Asia now in the Lamarck herbarium, and we lectotypify it here. We use nuclear ITS sequences to test the broad treatment of P. reticulatus in recent floras, identify records of "P. reticuiattis" from Africa, and investigate the origin of P. reticulatus on Jamaica. A maximum likelihood tree for accessions of P. reticutatus from throughout its supposed range (plus relevant outgroups) shows that the Jamaican plants represent the Asian species, that the African plants called P. reticulatus belong to a separate clade for which P. polyspermus is the oldest available name, and that the sensu lato treatment of P. reticulatus in recent floras is unjustified. Treating the Asian entities P. reticulatus and P. microcarpus as separate species appears justified, and identical ITS sequences in Asian and Jamaican P. reticuiattis indicate a recent introduction. The first "island botanists," J. Macfadyen and N. Wilson, introduced many plants from India in the 1800s, and theirs are the oldest Jamaican collections of P. reticuiatus. Since the species was introduced to Jamaica without its obligate Epicepiiaia moth pollinators, it does not set fruit, persisting instead by vegetative growth.

Diversification and coevolution in brood pollination mutualisms: Windows into the role of biotic interactions in generating biological diversity

“…Tegeticula yuccasella appears to be a generalist yucca moth species that pollinates at least seven different species of Yucca across its range in the central and eastern United States (Pellmyr, 1999). A similar pattern exists with the widely distributed Phyllanthus reticulatus and P. microcarpus complex in East Asia and their diverse fauna of Epicephala (Luo et al, 2011; Kawakita et al, 2015; Li and Yang, 2015).…”

Reversal of mutualism in a leafflower-leafflower moth association: the possible driving role of a third-party partner

“…Although long treated as a single species, the shrub has recently been split into two species, P . reticulatus and Phyllanthus microcarpus , based on several distinct morphological and ecological characteristics (Luo et al ., ). Both species occur throughout our study sites in Taiwan but, in many of the populations under investigation, the plants showed intermediate characteristics suggestive of hybridization, which rendered distinctions between the two species obscure.…”

Three new species of Epicephala Meyrick (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae) associated with Phyllanthus microcarpus (Benth.) (Phyllanthaceae)

“…Both glabrous and pubescent forms are now treated as one species (Luo et al 2011). This interesting phenomenon may have some significance in the coevolution between the Epicephala moths and the Phyllanthaceae plants.…”

“…Phyllanthus microcarpus was previously a synonym of Phyllanthus reticulatus Poir. until Luo et al (2011) showed they are two different species, with differences in vegetative and floral characteristics, and different habitats and distribution.…”