From Coastal Strand to Gypsum: Phylogenetics and Niche Evolution in Abronia and Tripterocalyx(Nyctaginaceae)

Science Center, Bent Corridor

Abronia and Tripterocalyx (Nyctaginaceae) are sister genera with centers of diversity in the western US, and are herbaceous perennials or annuals characterized by umbellate inflorescences of salverform flowers and anthocarps often with prominent wings. While all four species of Tripterocalyx grow on sandy soils, the approximately 20 species of Abronia grow on a wide variety of substrates, with endemics to sand, gypsum, and clay, and occur in nearly every ecosystem in the western US, including high-elevation alpine taxa, coastal strand taxa, taxa of the warm deserts, several localized endemics on the Colorado Plateau, and taxa endemic to east Texas and to south Texas. To understand niche evolution within these genera, we are reconstructing the phylogeny of all species of Abronia and Tripterocalyx using two plastid spacer regions (ndhF/rpl32 and rpl32/trnL) and nuclear ITS, including multiple populations of each species when possible.