ibclogo XVI International Botanical Congess


Abstract Number: 3658
Session = 3.2.5


DIVERSITY AND ORIGIN OF THE HAWAIIAN FLORA


Warren L. Wagner, Dept. of Botany, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560-0166 USA


The Hawaiian Islands are unique (most massive archipelago, longest chronology, most isolated, colonized via long-distance). Understanding geologic history and use of phylogenetic methods has allowed progress in evolutionary studies. 294 colonizations have led to > 1300 taxa [20 (7%) have led to 47% of the taxa]. Finding close ancestors of Hawaiian radiations is basic to understand evolutionary changes in lineage diversification. Rigorous resolution of relationships is not trivial. Identification of progenitors is often difficult due to extreme morphological divergence, making answering key evolutionary questions and detecting cases of convergence hard. Recent studies have emphasized this divergence, and revealed surprising origins in Asteraceae, Campanulaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Rubiaceae, and Violaceae. Molecular characters are useful in cases of extreme divergence.


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