A framework infrageneric classification of Carex (Cyperaceae) and its organizing principles

Carex sect. Rhynchocystis (Cyperaceae): a Miocene subtropical relict in the Western Palaearctic showing a dispersal‐derived Rand Flora pattern

Aim To evaluate how Cenozoic climate changes shaped the evolution and distribution of Carex section Rhynchocystis. Location Western Palaearctic and Afrotropical regions (Rand Flora pattern). Methods DNA regions ITS, ETS (nuclear), matK and rpl32-trnLUAG (plastid) were amplified for 86 samples of species from section Rhynchocystis. Phylogenetic and phylogeographical relationships were inferred using maximum parsimony, Bayesian inference and coalescent-based species tree approaches. Divergence times and ancestral areas were also inferred. Results Carex section Rhynchocystis is a clade that diversified during the middle Miocene in Europe. Most cladogenesis events date to the middle and late Mi…

Megaphylogenetic Specimen-level Approaches to the <I>Carex</I> (Cyperaceae) Phylogeny Using ITS, ETS, and <I>matK</I> Sequences: Implications for Classification

Abstract We present the first large-scale phylogenetic hypothesis for the genus Carex based on 996 of the 1983 accepted species (50.23%). We used a supermatrix approach using three DNA regions: ETS, ITS and matK. Every concatenated sequence was derived from a single specimen. The topology of our phylogenetic reconstruction largely agreed with previous studies. We also gained new insights into the early divergence structure of the two largest clades, core Carex and Vignea clades, challenging some previous evolutionary hypotheses about inflorescence structure. Most sections were recovered as non-monophyletic. Homoplasy of characters traditionally selected as relevant for classification, histo…

MakingCarexmonophyletic (Cyperaceae, tribe Cariceae): a new broader circumscription

We are grateful to the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for funding of the Biodiversity Synthesis Group of the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) project, which funded our BioSynC Synthesis meeting at the Field Museum in Chicago in September 2011, when the Global Carex Group was formed. We also thank the US National Science Foundation (NSF) for funding our continuing international collaborative work on the phylogeny and classification of Carex under grants DEB 1255901 to ALH and MJW, and DEB 1256033 to EHR. We also acknowledge with thanks funding for nomenclatural research and for attendance at our second meeting during the Monocots V conference in New York in July, 2013, from the Natu…

Data from: Megaphylogenetic specimen-level approaches to the Carex (Cyperaceae) phylogeny using ITS, ETS, and matK sequences: implications for classification

We present the first large-scale phylogenetic hypothesis for the genus Carex based on 996 of the 1983 accepted species (50.23%). We used a supermatrix approach using three DNA regions: ETS, ITS and matK. Every concatenated sequence was derived from a single specimen. The topology of our phylogenetic reconstruction largely agreed with previous studies. We also gained new insights into the early divergence structure of the two largest clades, core Carex and Vignea clades, challenging some previous evolutionary hypotheses about inflorescence structure. Most sections were recovered as non-monophyletic. Homoplasy of characters traditionally selected as relevant for classification, historical mis…