Cut from the same cloth: The convergent evolution of dwarf morphotypes of the Carex flava group (Cyperaceae) in Circum-Mediterranean mountains.

ABSTRACT: Plants growing in high-mountain environments may share common morphological features through convergent evolution resulting from an adaptative response to similar ecological conditions. The Carex flava species complex (sect. Ceratocystis, Cyperaceae) includes four dwarf morphotypes from Circum-Mediterranean mountains whose taxonomic status has remained obscure due to their apparent morphological resemblance. In this study we investigate whether these dwarf mountain morphotypes result from convergent evolution or common ancestry, and whether there are ecological differences promoting differentiation between the dwarf morphotypes and their taxonomically related large, well-developed counterparts. We used phylogenetic analyses of nrDNA (ITS) and ptDNA (rps16 and 5'trnK) sequences, ancestral s

SUBMITTER: Jimenez-Mejias P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5744957 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature