Temporal and spatial diversification of the African disjunct genus Androcymbium (Colchicaceae)

Abstract The genus Androcymbium (Colchicaceae) includes 57 species that are distributed in the extreme northern and southern portions of Africa, mainly in regions with a Mediterranean climate. We present the first phylogeographic analysis of the genus with species from all five of its distribution areas (North Africa, Horn of Africa, Namibia, western South Africa, and eastern South Africa). We used sequence data from six chloroplast regions and one nuclear region. Phylogeographic reconstructions were conducted using both parsimony and Bayesian inference methods. Molecular dating estimates using a Bayesian approach suggest a middle Miocene (13.4 ± 1.5 mya) origin of the genus; this approach …