Generic delimitation and phylogenetic uncertainty:
an example from a group that has undergone an explosive radiation
L. A. Orthia A B , L. G. Cook A and M. D. Crisp A
A School of Botany and Zoology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: lindy.orthia@anu.edu.au
Australian Systematic Botany 18(1) 41-47 https://doi.org/10.1071/SB04016
Submitted: 3 June 2004 Accepted: 9 September 2004 Published: 29 March 2005
Abstract
Phylogenetic trees can provide a stable basis for a higher-level classification of organisms that reflects evolutionary relationships. However, some lineages have a complex evolutionary history that involves explosive radiation or hybridisation. Such histories have become increasingly apparent with the use of DNA sequence data for phylogeny estimation and explain, in part, past difficulties in producing stable morphology-based classifications for some groups. We illustrate this situation by using the example of tribe Mirbelieae (Fabaceae), whose generic classification has been fraught for decades. In particular, we discuss a recent proposal to combine 19 of the 25 Mirbelieae genera into a single genus, Pultenaea sens. lat., and how we might find stable and consistent ways to squeeze something as complex as life into little boxes for our own convenience.
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