Sophora sect. Edwardsia (Fabaceae): Further evidence from nrDNA sequence data of a recent and rapid radiation around the Southern Oceans

Abstract

Phylogenetic relationships are inferred from nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer sequences for species belonging to Sophora sect. Edwardsia from South America, New Zealand, Lord Howe Island, Hawai'i, La Réunion, Easter Island, and Raivavae Island (French Polynesia). Results support the monophyly of sect. Edwardsia, but relationships among the species from this section are poorly resolved due to most species having identical sequences. The origin of Sophora sect. Edwardsia is discussed, as competing hypotheses have proposed the group originated in South America from a North American ancestor, or in the north-west Pacific. We suggest sect. Edwardsia may have arisen in the north-west Pacific from a Eurasian ancestor. © The Linnean Society of London.