Department of Botany, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa; Department of Phanerogamic Botany, Swedish Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 50007, 104 05 Stockholm, Sweden
StÄngberg, F., Department of Botany, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; Ellis, A.G., Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa; Anderberg, A.A., Department of Phanerogamic Botany, Swedish Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 50007, 104 05 Stockholm, Sweden
A molecular phylogeny of the mainly South African genus Gorteria is presented for the first time, based on Bayesian inference and parsimony analyses using DNA sequences from plastid trnL-F and from nuclear ETS and ITS regions. It is shown that the genus is strongly paraphyletic in relation to one subgroup of Hirpicium, a finding that changes the prevailing generic concept and circumscription of Gorteria and Hirpicium. Furthermore, Gorteria diffusa and G. personata both seem to be polyphyletic assemblages, comprised of some more or less well diagnosed monophyletic groups with different distributions.