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5 May 2022 Taxonomic revision of the southern hemisphere pygmy forget-me-not group (Myosotis; Boraginaceae) based on morphological, population genetic and climate-edaphic niche modelling data
Jessica M. Prebble, V. Vaughan Symonds, Jennifer A. Tate, Heidi M. Meudt
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Abstract

A taxonomic revision of the southern hemisphere pygmy forget-me-not group (Myosotis L.; Boraginaceae) is presented here. Climate-edaphic niches are modelled and compared for five species in the pygmy group, namely, M. antarctica Hook.f., M. brevis de Lange & Barkla, M. drucei (L.B.Moore) de Lange & Barkla, M. pygmaea Colenso and M. glauca (G.Simpson & J.S.Thomson) de Lange & Barkla, and one unnamed putative taxon, M. “Volcanic Plateau”. In this case, niche-modelling data mostly do not aid species delimitation, but morphological and genetic data provide evidence for recognising the following three species within the group: M. brevis and M. glauca (both endemic to New Zealand), and an enlarged M. antarctica (native to New Zealand, Campbell Island and Chile). Myosotis antarctica is here circumscribed to include M. antarctica sens. strict., M. drucei and M. pygmaea. The following two allopatric subspecies of M. antarctica are recognised on the basis of minor morphological differences: subsp. antarctica (formerly M. antarctica from Campbell Island and Chile, M. drucei and M. “Volcanic Plateau”) and subsp. traillii Kirk (formerly known by New Zealand botanists as M. pygmaea Colenso, an illegitimate name). For all three species, which are considered Threatened or At Risk, most of their genetic variation is partitioned between rather than within populations, meaning that conserving as many populations as possible should be the priority to minimise risk of extinction.

© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing.
Jessica M. Prebble, V. Vaughan Symonds, Jennifer A. Tate, and Heidi M. Meudt "Taxonomic revision of the southern hemisphere pygmy forget-me-not group (Myosotis; Boraginaceae) based on morphological, population genetic and climate-edaphic niche modelling data," Australian Systematic Botany 35(1), 63-94, (5 May 2022). https://doi.org/10.1071/SB21031
Received: 24 August 2021; Accepted: 17 February 2022; Published: 5 May 2022
KEYWORDS
Boraginaceae
microsatellite markers
Morphometrics
Myosotis
New Zealand
population genetics
species radiation
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