Abstract Detail

Systematics Section/ASPT

Wills, Brandee [1], McGlaughlin, Mitchell E. [2].

Resolving Taxonomic Synonymy of Phacelia submutica (DeBeque Phacelia) using ITS (nuclear) and ndhF (chloroplast) Sequences: Implications for Rare Plant Management.

Phacelia submutica J.T Howell (DeBeque Phacelia) is a federally protected Colorado endemic known only from within a 12 mile radius of DeBeque, Colorado, where its distribution is restricted by its extreme edaphic preferences of alkaline clay soils of the Wasatch formation. Phacelia sumbutica’s taxonomy is currently uncertain. While some taxonomists consider it a distinct species, others merely consider it a variety of P. scopulina. The genus Phacelia (Boraginaceae:Hydrophyllaceae) is large and diverse, containing over 200 species found throughout North America with scattered populations in Central and South America. Due to the extreme size and diversity within Phacelia taxonomists have broken it down into four different subgenera composed of at least eleven sections. Phacelia submutica is located within section Miltitzia, which is paraphyletic with section Euglypta under current phylogenetic treatments, although when grouped together these sections form a monophyletic group. Though P. submutica is the only species within these two sections that is currently protected under the Endangered Species Act, at least eight other species are considered rare by Native Plant Societies and Natural Heritage Programs throughout the western states. Phylogenetic relationships between P. submutica and P. scopulina were inferred using ITS and ndhF regions collected from herbarium specimens and data from GenBank. Phylogenetic trees were constructed in Geneious 8.0.4 using the Bayesian analysis MrBayes. Traditional taxonomic classifications of these species has been based on morphological characteristics alone, often with overlap of character states. If Phacelia submutica is a recently diverged variety of P. scopulina (a widespread species), it could have implications for whether or not money and resources should be allocated to it or perhaps better spent on truly rare and unique species. By resolving current taxonomic discrepancies we can determine if P. submutica is a distinct species that justifies continued resource allocation to its conservation.

1 - University of Northern Colorado, 1118 11th St. #3, Greeley, Colorado, 80631, United States
2 - University of Northern Colorado, 501 20th St., Box 92, Greeley, Colorado, 80639, United States

Keywords:
Phacelia
taxonomy
ITS DNA sequence
chloroplast.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Hall D/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Monday, July 27th, 2015
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PSY032
Abstract ID:667
Candidate for Awards:None