XVI International Botanical Congess

Relationships within, between, and among taxa (individuals -> genera) were inferred from RAPD markers amplified on genomic DNA from 58 Artemisia subgenera Tridentatae (6 species, 5 subspecies), Artemisia (2 species), and Dracunculus (1 species) and two other Anthemideae genera, Sphaeromeria (5 species) and Tanacetum (2 species) populations. RAPD markers effectively separated taxa at subspecific, specific, subgeneric, and generic levels (subgenus Tridentatae population variation = between population variation). The western North American endemic Sphaeromeria is more similar to Artemisia, especially subgenus Tridentatae, than it is to Tanacetum. Results also confirm the authenticity of synthesized hybrids and suggest the intriguing possibility of in situ, de novo autoployploidy in the subgenus Tridentatae