Evolution and biogeography of New ZealandAnaphalis(Asteraceae: Gnaphalieae) inferred from rDNA sequences

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Abstract
A tree based on DNA sequences from the ITS region of rDNA of New Zealand members of the tribe Gnaphalieae is presented. The tree supports recognition of the genus Anaphalioides. The closest relatives of this genus are other New Zealand gnaphalioid genera: Leucogenes, Raoulia, Ewartia, and species currently assigned to Helichrysum. The tree suggests that there were at least four dispersal events to New Zealand of ancestors to the present gnaphalioid flora. The tree provides information on the relationships of other New Zealand genera in the Gnaphalieae: that Ewartiothamnus (Ewartia sinclairii) is not a sister genus to Ewartia, that Leucogenes is not a sister genus to Leontopodium, and that the New Zealand whipcord Helichrysum species do not belong in Ozothamnus.