H. littoralis, now H. caribaea
Nolo Contendre (Sun, 20 Jun 2004 10:28:49 PDT)

C. Joe,

The preliminary data that we have based on ITS sequences show two migrations
out of Mexico, one of which gaved rise to the SE U.S. group (excluding H.
latifolia) and the other the Caribbean complex (inc. H. latifolia). At the
base of the clades are southern Caribbean/northern South American species
like H. speciosa and H. tubiflora. Interestingly, H. glauca (one of my
favorite Mexican species) is sister to the other two Mexican clades.

Gerald Smith and I hope to get this written up for the next Herbertia.

Alan
----- Original Message -----
From: <ConroeJoe@aol.com>
To: <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Sunday, June 20, 2004 1:06 PM
Subject: [pbs] Re: H. littoralis, now H. caribaea

Hi Gang,

I'm happy with the collective wisdom of this group, but have to give a nod

to

K. Preuss. That was a fast, and apparently accurate, ID and it was based

on

text only (no photo).

Here is a photo of H. caribaea, and it is an exact match for my plant, a
photo of H. caribaea, the leaves are a perfect match too (even the tips,

texture,

etc.).
http://cambridge2000.com/gallery/html/…

The more I read about Hymenocallis it seems as though the US populations

(and

maybe others) could have exploded north after the last ice age, occupying
numerous new habitats and locations. This could explain why species

boundaries

are fuzzy sometimes; they are still working it out themselves.

USA and northern Mexico populations of Oak, Opuntia, Agave and other

genera

can also be explained by the "explosion out of Mexico" theory. The

problem of

course is that such groups don't fit into neat species definitions.
Hybridization, recombination, and hybrid dysgenesis-type events, can all

scramble

lineages. It is quite easy for plant groups hybridize with cousin species

and for

the resultant progeny to then exchange DNA with grandparent species.
Interpretation of DNA data is dependent upon the assumption of having a

correct

molecular clocks, an assumption that seem impossible to make when plants

won't

behave. I'm reminded of the song, "I'm my own grandpa."

Cordially,

C.J. A 30-50% chance of rain predicted all week, daytime 90-95 F

LINKS

Tree of Life Web Project
http://tolweb.org/tree/phylogeny.html

Some Definitions of Species
http://www.adera.be/fish/whatspecies.html

Assumptions of Molecular Phylogney

http://genome.uc.edu/genome/HelpPages/…

Lyrics, I'm My Own Grandpa
http://geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/…

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