Unravelling the phylogeny of the root‐hemiparasitic genus Odontites (tribe Rhinantheae, Orobanchaceae): Evidence for five main lineages

Abstract

Despite the recent publication of several phylogenies focused on Rhinantheae, which has been expanded to include three Asian endemic genera, few studies so far have dealt with particular genera within the tribe. Here, we focus on Odontites and related genera because of the high morphological variability of the group and its unclear generic boundaries. Phylogenetic analyses were performed for nrDNA (ITS) and cpDNA (trnK region and rps16 intron) datasets, using Bayesian and Parsimony analyses. Our results cast doubt on the inclusion of Pterygiella and related genera within the Rhinantheae and support the paraphyly of Phtheirospermum, making it necessary to propose three new combinations to avoid it. Odontites is recircumscribed to include Bartsiella, Bornmuellerantha, and Macrosyringion, but not Odontitella. Within Odontites, five distinct lineages are identified. These are distinguishable either by morphological synapomorphies or by a combination of several character states. Most of the Odontites species are regarded as monophyletic. In the O. vernus and O. luteus complexes, some taxonomic changes are made to avoid paraphyly, which results in three new combinations. Supplementary MaterialElectronic Supplement (Appendix S1; Fig. S1) and DNA sequence alignment files are available in the Supplementary Data section of the online version of this article at

Parasitic angiosperms: How often and how many?

“…In that chapter, the phylogenetic relationships of the various clades in the family were discussed, and five disconnected phylogenetic trees were shown that included lists of unplaced taxa based on their assumed affinity. Although there have been numerous phylogenetic studies since 2013 (e.g., Schneider & al., ; Uribe‐Convers & Tank, ; Fu & al., ; Pinto‐Carrasco & al., ; Gaudeul & al., ; Yu & al., ; Li & al., ), most have been focused on a particular group (tribe) within Orobanchaceae. It appears that there does not exist in the literature an attempt to incorporate all the available phylogenetic information to produce a “super tree” of Orobanchaceae.…”

“…A taxonomic solution to the problem of polyphyly in Phtheirospermum was made in Pinto‐Carrasco & al. (), who sunk Ph. muliense C.Y.Wu & D.D.Tao, Ph.…”

“…() but did not follow the taxonomy proposed in Pinto‐Carrasco & al. () and continued using the generic name Phtheirospermum for the Ph. tenuisectum complex of species.…”

“…) for the most part follows Pinto‐Carrasco & al. (); however, other studies offered different interpretations of generic boundaries based on different molecular analyses (e.g., Těšitel & al., ; Scheunert & al., ; Uribe‐Convers & Tank, ; Gaudeul & al., ). Melampyrum L. is sister to the rest of the clade, a result seen in all molecular analyses.…”

Pterygiella trichosepala (Orobanchaceae), sp. nov. from Yunnan, southwest China

“…and Ph. tenuisectum Bureau & Franch., were transferred to Pterygiella based on phylogenetic analyses (Pinto-Carrasco et al 2017). Nevertheless, the monophyly of the genus Pterygiella in traditional sense was also well supported by molecular data (Dong et al 2013, Pinto-Carrasco et al 2017, and if Pinto-Carrasco et al's circumscription is adopted, this genus would be somewhat morphologically heterogeneous and difficult to define.…”