TAYLOR, ROBIN M. Northern Arizona University Department of Biological Sciences PO Box 5640 Flagstaff, AZ 86011. - The Phylogeny and Adaptive Radiation of Salvia pachyphylla (Lamiaceae).
Salvia pachyphylla, as currently recognized, has a disjunct
distribution. One large division occurs along the mountain ranges of
southern California, Nevada, and the northern part of Baja California
Norte, Mexico. The second smaller division occurs in the eastern part
of Arizona near Winslow. This curious distribution raised questions as
to the plants original distribution and the evolutionary processes,
specifically adaptive radiation, which has occurred. To answer these
questions, Salvia pachyphylla and close relatives of the
Salvia dorrii complex have been examined to determine the
relationship between Salvia pachyphylla and the other members
of the complex using molecular techniques. The independent data set
derived from nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) sequences (ITS-1 and ITS-2)
were correlated with morphological characters. These results were used
to determine where the most sequence diversity occurred and the
adaptive radiation point of the original population. The information
from this study will be used for conservation planning for populations
of Salvia pachyphylla and related species.
Key words: Adaptive radiation, ITS 1 and 2, Lamiaceae, Molecular systematics, Phylogeny, Salvia