Dragons in the mist: origin and diversification of the austral genus

Dracophyllum (Ericaceae)

Steven J. Wagstaff1, Murray I. Dawson1, S. Venter2, Jérôme Munzinger3, Darren M. Crayn4, Dorothy A. Steane5, Kristina L. Lemson6

Dracophyllum subgenus Dracophyllum

About 21 species are placed in subgenus Dracophyllum; 7 of these are found only in New Zealand, 8 are confined to New Caledonia, 4 to Australia, 1 to Tasmania, and 1 to Lord Howe Island.

D. fitzgeraldii

D. oceanicum

D. ouaiemense D. mackeeanum D. fiordenseD. verticillatum

Dracophyllum subgenus Oreothamnus

Some 29 species are recognized in subgenus Oreothamnus. With the exception of D. minimum found in Tasmania, they are endemic to New Zealand.

D. longifolium

D. pronum D. muscoides D. minimum

Subgenus Cordophyllum includes a single species, Dracophyllum involucratum, which is restricted to New Caledonia

Dracophyllum subgenus Cordophyllum

D. involucratum

Richea 11 species are recognized that are placed

in two sections. These are restricted to Tasmania and southeastern Australia

R. pandanifolia

R. scoparia

R. victoriana

R. sprengelioides

R. continentis

Sphenotoma

Includes about 8 species that are restricted to Southwestern Australia

S. gracile

S. capitataS. dracophylloides

Distribution of Dracophyllum

and its relatives Sphenotoma and Richea

Predictions

• Differences in taxonomic interpretation• Fragmentation and extinction• Long-distance dispersal with prevailing westerly winds• Recent founder speciation on oceanic islands rather

than greater age

New Zealand

New Caledonia

Australia

Australia

Jordan, G.J.; Bannister, J.M.; Mildenhall, D.C.; Zetter, R.; Lee, D.E. 2010. Fossil Ericaceae from New Zealand: Deconstructing the use of fossil evidence in historical biogeography. American Journal of Botany 97: 59-70.

Furness, Caroll A. 2009. Pollen evolution and development in Ericaceae, with particular reference to pseudomonads and variable pollen Sterility in Styphelioideae. International Journal of Plant Sciences 170: 476-495.

Node No. of bootstrap

trees in r8s profile

Maximum likelihood Bayesian

Stem age for Tribe Richeeae 100 33.4 ± 3.5 (12.2–44.1) 35.0 (26.9–36.3)

Crown radiation in Tribe Richeeae 100 20.6 ± 2.9 (7.2–35.9) 27.0 (8.7–21.4)

Stem age of New Caledonian radiation

47 5.6 ± 0.7 (3.9–7.0) 8.7 (4.7–13.0)

Crown age of New Caledonian radiation

92 3.5 ± 1.1 (0.7–6.5) 6.1 (3.0–10.0)

Stem age of New Zealand radiation 95 6.2 ± 1.0 (2.6–8.8) 11.2 (7.1–15.9)

Crown age of New Zealand radiation

100 3.0 ± 1.2 (1.1–7.7) 9.7 (5.7–14.1)

Stem age of Dracophyllum subg. Oreothamnus in New Zealand

100 1.1 ± 1.1 (0.0-–7.1) 3.7 (1.5–7.3)

Divergence estimates given as million years ago (Ma).

23.8 Ma

Fixed age90 Ma

“During the late Miocene-Pliocene at least 15 families and a minimum of 36 genera were lost from the New Zealand flora”

Lee, D.E.; Lee, W.G.; Mortimer, N. 2001. Where and why have all the flowers gone? Depletion and turnover in the New Zealand Cenozoic angiosperm flora in relation to palaeogeography and climate. Australian Journal of Botany 49: 341-356.

http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Fossils/NZ-fossils/Fossil-Plants

Nathan, R.; Schurr, F.M.; Spiegel, O.; Steinitz, O.; Trakhtenbrot, A.; Tsoar, A. 2008. Mechanisms of long-distance seed dispersal. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 23: 638-647.

Satellite image of cyclone Larry as it was bearing down on the

coast of Queensland. The storm sustained wind speeds of 185 km/hr before it came ashore. NASA image

by Jeff Schmaltz

Barraclough, T.G.; Nee, S. 2001. Phylogenetics and speciation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 16: 391-399.

Summary• Sphenotoma monophyletic; Dracophyllum

paraphyletic, and Richea polyphyletic.• Species richness greatest in New Zealand and New

Caledonia, but phylogenetic diversity greatest in Australia

• Oligocene-early Miocene fossils in New Zealand may represent extinct lineages distantly related to extant species of Dracophyllum

• Australian species of Dracophyllum remnants of older widely distributed lineages

• In contrast the extant species in New Zealand and New Caledonia species radiated more recently following long-distance dispersal

Steven J. Wagstaff1, Murray I. Dawson1, Stephanus Venter2, Jérôme Munzinger3, Darren M. Crayn4, Dorothy A. Steane5, Kristina L. Lemson6

1Allan Herbarium, Landcare Research, PO Box 40, Lincoln 7640, New Zealand.2Botanical and Environmental Consultant, PO Box 63, Trinity Beach, Queensland, 4879, Queensland, Australia.3IRD, UMR AMAP, d’Ecologie Végétale Appliquées, Herbarium NOU, F-98848 New Caledonia.4Australian Tropical Herbarium, James Cook University Cairns Campus, PO Box 6811, Cairns 4870, Australia.5School of Plant Science, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia.6Centre for Ecosystem Management & School of Natural Sciences, Edith Cowan University, 100 Joondalup Drive,

Joondalup, Western Australia 6027, Australia.

Wagstaff, S.J.; Dawson, M.I.; Venter, S.; Munzinger, J.; Crayn, D.M.; Steane, D.A.; Lemson, K.L. 2010. Origin, diversification, and classification of the Australasian Genus Dracophyllum (Richeeae, Ericaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 97: 235-258. http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.3417/2008130

Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by a National Geographic Society’s Committee for Research and Exploration grant 7774–05 and the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology through the Defining New Zealand’s Land Biota OBI. The authors thank many individuals for their assistance with fieldwork, including those from Australia: Jayne Balmer and Jaz Jaynes (Tasmania); Spiro Buhagiar, Ray Moore, and Michelle Nissen (Queensland); Andrew Perkins, Muhammad Iqbal and Brendon Neilly (New South Wales); Ian Hutton and Terry Wilson (Lord Howe Island); and Michel Blanc, Daniel and Irène Létocart (New Caledonia). Mary Korver, Peter de Lange and Phil Garnock-Jones of New Zealand collected specimens of Dracophyllum from Tasmania, the Chatham, Three Kings and subantarctic islands. Earlier drafts benefited greatly from the insightful comments of Greg Jordan, Daphne Lee, Ilse Breitwieser, Thomas Buckley, Walt Judd, Kathy Kron and Ulf Swensen.