Phylogeny based generic reclassification of Muscari sensu lato (Asparagaceae) using plastid and genomic DNA

Abstract

The grape hyacinth (Muscari) represents an important ornamental plant group in Asparagaceae subfamily Scilloideae, comprising some 80 species distributed mainly in the Mediterranean. However, genus delimitation has repeatedly shifted over the past two centuries and a general consensus has not been reached so far. The present study investigates the phylogeny of Muscari s.l. (i.e., including the disputed segregates Pseudomuscari and Leopoldia) with a broad sampling of about half the currently recognized species using both chloroplast markers (trnK(matK)‐psbA, trnL‐trnF, rpl16) and genome‐wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data generated by double‐digest restriction site‐associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD). We perform concatenated maximum likelihood inference for both datasets as well as a coalescent‐based approach and principal component analysis (PCA) on the ddRAD data. We find that the morphological characters traditionally used to distinguish different genera are not diagnostic for the clades here retrieved. Also, the segregates Pseudomuscari and Leopoldia are deeply nested in Muscari and we therefore propose a broadly defined Muscari with five subgenera. The subgenera roughly correspond to previously recognized entities, with the exception of the newly identified clade here proposed as M. subg. Pulchella subg. nov. We provide a provisional assignment of the 80 currently accepted taxa to these subgenera.

Lectotypification of Muscari heldreichii (Asparagaceae) from Greece

“…Here, we designate a lectotype for the name Muscari heldreichii Boissier (1859: 109), an oftenoverlooked species that has been regarded, e.g., by Davis & Stuart (1980), as a synonym of Muscari botryoides (Linnaeus 1753: 318) Miller (1768. In recent years, however, the species has been widely accepted by several authors (e.g., Dimopoulos et al 2013, Böhnert et al 2023. This view was now confirmed after examining material held at Berlin Herbarium (B) as well as digital material from other herbaria (G-BOIS, JE, MPU, S, WU), therefore we must conclude that the recognition as an independent species is justified.…”

“…The genus Muscari Miller (1754: 926; Asparagaceae) comprises about 80 species (Böhnert et al 2023) of mainly springflowering geophytes and, like many other genera in the Mediterranean, it has a long and turbulent taxonomic history (Garbari & Greuter 1970, Davis & Stuart 1980, Speta 1982. The most recent attempt to formalize the generic boundaries was made by using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism data resulting in a comprehensive generic treatment in its widest sense that accepts five subgenera, of which one is described as new (Böhnert et al 2023).…”

“…The genus Muscari Miller (1754: 926; Asparagaceae) comprises about 80 species (Böhnert et al 2023) of mainly springflowering geophytes and, like many other genera in the Mediterranean, it has a long and turbulent taxonomic history (Garbari & Greuter 1970, Davis & Stuart 1980, Speta 1982. The most recent attempt to formalize the generic boundaries was made by using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism data resulting in a comprehensive generic treatment in its widest sense that accepts five subgenera, of which one is described as new (Böhnert et al 2023). The genus in its current circumscription sensu Böhnert et al (2023) is mainly distributed in the Mediterranean region, but reaches as far as temperate Europe in the west to Afghanistan in the east (Davis & Stuart 1980, Breckle & Rafiqpoor 2010, while Turkey and Greece must be regarded as centres of species diversity for the genus (Davis & Stuart 1984, Dimopoulos et al 2013, Böhnert & Lobin 2017.…”

“…The most recent attempt to formalize the generic boundaries was made by using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism data resulting in a comprehensive generic treatment in its widest sense that accepts five subgenera, of which one is described as new (Böhnert et al 2023). The genus in its current circumscription sensu Böhnert et al (2023) is mainly distributed in the Mediterranean region, but reaches as far as temperate Europe in the west to Afghanistan in the east (Davis & Stuart 1980, Breckle & Rafiqpoor 2010, while Turkey and Greece must be regarded as centres of species diversity for the genus (Davis & Stuart 1984, Dimopoulos et al 2013, Böhnert & Lobin 2017. Several species have attracted horticultural attention for centuries and subsequently many species have been described from cultivation, which led to a complex taxonomic situation, and several taxonomic names still remain without typification.…”

The type and correct authorship of the name Muscari neglectum (Asparagaceae)

“…The name Muscari neglectum is generally applied to a bulbous plant species within Asparagaceae, which is widespread in Europe, North Africa, and western Asia (as far east as Kyrgyzstan), as well as naturalized in North America (Davis & Stuart, 1984; Stuart, 1985; Rechinger, 1990; Czerepanov, 1995; Straley & Utech, 2002; Ali, 2005; Lazkov & Ganybayeva, 2008, sub M. leucostomum ; Dobignard & Chatelain, 2010; Jafari & Maassoumi, 2011; Böhnert & al., 2023; POWO, 2023; Raab‐Straube, 2023). The binomial, however, is as widely used as it is problematic.…”