Phytogeographical relationships and analysis of the flora of South Texas Plains

Auteurs-es

  • A.A. Saghatelyan Department of Biology, McMurry University, McMurry Station

DOI :

https://doi.org/10.17348/jbrit.v11.i2.1090

Résumé

The southernmost tip of Texas is a part of the Tamaulipan Province of northeastern Mexico which some authors consider in the Madrean Subkingdom of the Holarctic Kingdom, while others the “Xerofitica Mexicana” of the Neotropical Kingdom. To shed more light on this question, a natural flora of fourteen counties in the S TX Plains ecoregion, South Texas Plains flora (S TX), was compiled, studied from a biogeographical perspective, and analyzed in this work. The analysis was based primarily on the species and genera distribution outlines. Phylogenetic literature was searched to find relationships, patterns of migrations, and geographical connections of the species of major clades. Taxonometric and geographic spectra of the S TX flora were obtained and compared with those of two other floras in southern Texas: SC Texas (EP, or Edwards Plateau) and Big Bend Region (BB). There are 1250 native species in 553 genera and 117 families in the S TX flora. These species were classified into 25 geographic (floristic) elements. Herein is presented a checklist of S TX accompanied by the geoelement descriptions, a comparison of geographical spectra of the species and genera in all three floras, and the biogeographical analysis of the S TX flora. South TX, having a flat topography and being on the crossroads of migration routes, has multiple connections with adjacent floristic centers. The Tamaulipan endemism is not particularly high (8% in S TX) in comparison with much higher Chihuahuan endemism in BB (23% in BB; 10% in S TX). Proportions of taxa of the largest families in the three southern Texas floras show much higher numbers of tropical-subtropical, Tamaulipan, Gulf Coast, and Mesoamerican (coastal) species in the S TX flora in comparison with those of EP and BB. North temperate, E North American, and Prairie species are best represented in EP (47%), followed by S TX (36%), with only 17% in BB. The majority of the BB differential species are in the Chihuahuan, SW N American, Sonoran/Apachian, and the Madrean geoelements. The genera of the largest family, Asteraceae, that are differential among the three floras show importance of the Mexican (Madrean) centers of diversity as well as migrations from the Tethyan Subkingdom in the assembly of the S TX flora. Tethyan connections are also evident among the Boraginaceae s. str. and some other groups found in the flora. The spectra of generic and specific geographical elements of S TX illustrate transitional position of its flora. It represents an ecotone between the Western (Madrean) and the Eastern (Atlantic and Gulf Coast) N American Regions, with a very high influence of the various Neotropical elements and a higher affinity to the EP flora than to that of BB.

Références

Appelhans, M.S, S. Krohm, S. Manafzadeh, & J. Wen. 2016. Phylogenetic placement of Psilopeganum, a rare monotypic genus of Rutaceae (the citrus family) endemic to China. J. Syst. Evol. 54:535–544.
Axelrod, D.I. 1975. Evolution and biogeography of Madrean-Tethyan sclerophyll vegetation. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 62(2):280–334.
Baird, K.E., V.A. Funk, J. Wen, & A. Weeks. 2010. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of Leibnitzia Cass. (Asteraceae: Mutisieae: Gerbera-complex), an Asian-North American disjunct genus. J. Syst. Evol. 48(3):161–174.
Baldwin, B.G. & B.L. Wessa. 2000. Phylogenetic placement of Pelucha and new subtribes in Helenieae sensu stricto (Compositae). Syst. Bot. 25:522–538.
Bellstedt, D.U., C. Galley, M.D. Pirie, & H.P. Linder. 2012. The migration of the palaeotropical arid flora: Zygophylloideae as an example. Syst. Bot. 37:951–959.
Brouillet, L. 2007. Canadanthus G.L. Nesom. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Oxford University Press, New York, U.S.A., and Oxford, U.K. 20:458.
Brouillet, L., T. Lowrey, L. Urbatsch, V. Karaman-Castro, G. Sancho, S. Wagstaff, & J.C. Semple. 2009. Astereae. In: Susanna A. & V. Funk, eds. Systematics and evolution of the Compositae. International Association of Plant Taxonomy, Vienna, Austria. Pp. 449–490.
Chacón, J., F. Luebert, H.H. Hilger, S. Ovchinnikova, F. Selvi, L. Cecchi, C.M. Guilliams, K. Hasenstab-Lehman, K. Sutory, M.G. Simpson, & M. Weigend. 2016. The borage family (Boraginaceae s.str.): A revised infrafamilial classification based on new phylogenetic evidence, with emphasis on the placement of some enigmatic genera. Taxon 65:523–546.
Clover, E. 1937. Vegetational survey of the lower Rio Grande valley. Texas. Madroño 4:41–72.
Cohen, J.I. 2015. Adelinia and Andersonglossum (Boraginaceae), two new genera from New World species of Cynoglossum. Syst. Bot. 40:611–619.
Correll, D.S. & M.C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas. Texas Research Foundation, Renner, Texas, U.S.A.
Crawford, D.J. & M.E Mort. 2005. Phylogeny of Eastern North American Coreopsis (Asteraceae: Coreopsideae): Insights from nuclear and plastid sequences, and comments on character evolution. Amer. J. Bot. 92(2):330–336.
Crawford, D.J., M. Tadesse, R.T. Kimball, M.E. Mort, P. Carrillo-Reyes, & I. SánchezVega. 2014. Coreopsis section Pseudoagarista (Asteraceae: Coreopsideae): Molecular phylogeny, chromosome numbers, and comments on taxonomy and distribution. Taxon 63:1092–1102.
Cronquist, A.1982. Map of floristic provinces of North America. Brittonia 34:144–145.
Crosswhite, F.S. 1980. Dry country plants of the South Texas Plains. Desert Pl. 2(3):14–179.
Diggs, G.M., Jr., B.L. Lipscomb & R.J. O’Kennon. 1999. Shinners & Mahler’s illustrated flora of north central Texas. Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.A.
Diggs, G.M., Jr., B.L. Lipscomb, M.D. Reed, & R.J. O’Kennon. 2006. Illustrated flora of East Texas, Volume 1. Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.A.
Everitt, J.H., D.L. Drawe, C.R. Little, & R.I. Lonard. 2011. Grasses of South Texas: A guide to identification and value. Texas Tech University Press, Lubbock, Texas, U.S.A.
Everitt, J.H, R.I. Lonard, & D.L. Drawe. 2002. Trees, shrubs, and cacti of South Texas. Texas Tech University Press, Lubbock, Texas, U.S.A.
Funk, V.A., A.A. Anderberg, B.G. Baldwin, R.J. Bayer, J.M. Bonifacino, I. Breitwieser, L. Brouillet, R. Carbajal, R. Chan, A.X.P. Coutinho, & D.J. Crawford. 2009. Compositae metatrees: The next generation. In: V.A. Funk, A. Susanna, T. Stuessy, & R. Bayer, eds. Systematics, evolution, and biogeography of Compositae. IAPT, Vienna, Austria. Pp. 747–777.
Graham A. 2011. A natural history of the New World: The ecology and evolution of plants in the Americas. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
Kamelin, R.V. 1973. Florogeneticheskiy analyz estestvennoy flori Gornoy Sredney Azii [Florogenetic analysis of the native flora of the Montane Middle Asia]. Nauka, Leningrad, Russia. (In Russian).
Kamelin R.V. 1998. Altai Mountain country (Contributions to the history of the flora of Asia). Altai State University Press, Barnaul, Russia. (In Russian).
Kamelin R.V. 2010. Mongolia on the map of the phytogeographical subdivisions of the Palearctics. Turczaninowia 13(3):5–11.
Kartesz, J.T. 2016. Floristic synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP).
Keeley, S. & H. Robinson. 2009. The Vernonieae. In: Funk, V.A., A. Susanna, T.E. Stuessy, & R.J. Bayer, eds. Systematics, evolution and biogeography of Compositae. IAPT, Vienna, Austria. Pp. 439–461.
Kilian, N., B. Gemeinholzer, & H.W. Lack. 2009: Tribe Cichorieae. In: Funk V.A., A. Susanna, T.E. Stuessy, & R.J. Bayer, eds. Systematics, evolution and biogeography of Compositae, IAPT, Vienna, Austria. Pp. 343–383.
Lavin, M., B.P. Schrire, G. Lewis, R.T Pennington, A. Delgado-Salinas, M. Thulin, C.E. Hughes, A.B. Matos, & M.F. Wojciechowski. 2004. Metacommunity process rather than continental tectonic history better explains geographically structured phylogenies in legumes. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B. 359:1509–1522.
Lee, J., B.G. Baldwin, & L.D. Gottlieb. 2003. Phylogenetic relationships among the primarily North American genera of Cichorieae (Compositae) based on analysis of 18S-26S Nuclear rDNA ITS and ETS Sequences. Syst. Bot. 28(3):61–626.
Levin, R.A. 2000. Phylogenetic relationships within Nyctaginaceae tribe Nyctagineae: Evidence from nuclear and chloroplast genomes. Syst. Bot. 25:738–750.
Levin, R.A. 2002. Taxonomic status of Acleisanthes, Selinocarpus, and Ammocodon (Nyctaginaceae). Novon 12(1):58–63.
Lonard, R.I., J.H. Everitt, & F.W. Judd. 1991. Woody plants of the lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas. Misc. Publ. 7. Texas Memorial Museum. Univ. of Texas, Austin, Texas, U.S.A.
Loockerman, D.J., B.L. Turner, & R.K. Jansen. 2003. Phylogenetic relationships within the Tageteae (Asteraceae) based on nuclear ribosomal ITS and chloroplast ndhF gene sequences. Syst. Bot. 28(1):191–207.
Luebert, F., T.L.P. Couvreur, M. Gottschling, H.H. Hilger, J.S. Miller, & M. Weigend. 2016. Historical biogeography of Boraginales: West Gondwanan vicariance followed by long-distance dispersal? J. Biogeogr. 44:158–169. doi:10.1111/jbi.12841
Mabberley, D.J. 2008. The plant-book: A portable dictionary of the vascular plants. Third edition. Cambridge University Press, Oxford, U.K.
MacRoberts M.H. & B.R. MacRoberts. 2003. The East to West transition of the flora in Texas: A biogeographical analysis. Sida 20(4):1693–1700.
MacRoberts, M.H. & B.R. MacRoberts. 2007. Phytogeography of the Big Thicket, East Texas. J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 1(2):1149–1155.
MacRoberts M.H. & B.R. MacRoberts. 2008. Species richness of vegetational areas of Texas: A first approximation. J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 2:1373–1379.
Mairal, M., L. Pokorny, J.J. Aldasoro, M. Alarcón, & I. Sanmartín. 2015. Ancient vicariance and climate-driven extinction explain continental-wide disjunctions in Africa: The case of the Rand flora genus Canarina (Campanulaceae). Molec. Ecol. 24:1335–1354. doi:10.1111/mec.13114
Mairal, M., I. Sanmartín, & L. Pellissier. 2017. Lineage-specific climatic niche drives the tempo of vicariance in the Rand Flora. J. Biogeogr. doi:10.1111/jbi.12930
Morrone, J.J. 2014. Biogeographical regionalisation of the Neotropical region. Zootaxa, 3782 (1), 1–110. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3782.1.1
Morrone, J.J., D. Espinosa Organista, C. Aguilar Zuniga, & J. Llorente Bousquets. 1999. Preliminary classification of the Mexican biogeographic provinces: A parsimony analysis of endemicity based on plant, insect, and bird taxa. S.W. Naturalist 44:508–515.
Mort, M.E., C.P. Randle, R.T. Kimball, M. Tadesse, & D.J. Crawford. 2008. Phylogeny of Coreopsideae (Asteraceae): Insights from nuclear and plastid sequences. Taxon 57:109–120.
Nesom G.L. 1995. Revision of Chaptalia (Asteraceae: Mutiseae) from North America and continental Central America. Phytologia 73:1531–88.
Nixon, K.C. 1993. The genus Quercus in Mexico. In: Ramamoorthy T.P., R. Bye, A. Lot, & J. Fa, eds. Biological diversity of Mexico: Origin and distribution. New York. Pp. 447–458.
Peterson, P.M., K. Romaschenko, & G. Johnson. 2010. A phylogeny and classification of the Muhlenbergiinae (Poaceae: Chloridoideae: Cynodonteae) based on plastid and nuclear DNA sequences. Amer. J. Bot. 97:1532–1554.
Popov, M.G. 1963. Osnovy florogenetiki [Fundamentals of florogenetics], M. Izd. Acad. Nauc. SSSR, Moscow. (In Russian).
Popov, M.G. 1983. Phylogeny, florogenetics, florography, and systematics. Selected works. Naykova Dumka, Kiuev. Vols. 1–2. (In Russian).
Rzed?wski, J. 1975. An ecological and phytogeographical analysis of the grasslands of Mexico. Taxon 24(1):67–80.
Rzedowski, J. 1973. Geographical relationships of the flora of Mexican dry regions, In: G. Graham, ed. Vegetation and vegetational history of northern Latín America. Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Pp. 61–62.
Rzedowski, J. 1993. Diversity and origins of phanerogamic flora of Mexico. In: Ramamoorthy, T.P., R. Bye, A. Lot, & J. Fa, eds. Biological diversity of Mexico: Origins and distribution. Pp. 129–147.
Saghatelyan, A.A. 1997. Klassificacija geographicheskich elementov flori Armenii [Classification of geographical elements of the flora Armenia]. Bot. Zhurn. (Moscow & Leningrad) 82(9):25–38.
Saghatelyan, A.A. 2006. Flora Armenia: Its composition, analysis, and relationships. Turczaninovia 9(3):5–47.
Saghatelyan, A.A. 2009. A classification of geographic elements and analysis of the flora of Big Bend region of Texas. J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 3:407–441.
Saghatelyan, A.A. 2015. Phytogeographical relationships and analysis of the flora of South-Central Texas, U.S.A. J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 9(1):259–294.
Schilling, E.E., J.L. Panero, B.S. Crozier, R.W. Scott, & P. Dávila. 2015. Bricklebush (Brickellia) phylogeny reveals dimensions of the great Asteraceae radiation in Mexico. Molec. Phylogen. Evol. 88:161–170.
Schilling, E.E. & J.L. Panero. 2016. A changed circumscription of Eupatorium (Asteraceae) alters its biogeographic story. Botany 2016 Abstr.
Schrire, B.D., M. Lavin, & G.P. Lewis. 2005. Global distribution patterns of the Leguminosae: Insights from recent phylogenies. Biol. Skr. 55:375–422.
Takhtajan, A.L. 1986. Floristic regions of the world. University of California Press, Berkeley, California, U.S.A.
Thiv, M., T. Van Der Niet, F. Rutschmann, M. Thulin, T. Brune, & H.P. Linder. 2011. Old-New World and trans-African disjunctions of Thamnosma (Rutaceae): Intercontinental long-distance dispersal and local differentiation in the succulent biome. Amer. J. Bot. 98:76–87.
Tiley, H., S. Wight, J. Charboneau, N. Douglas, O.H. Flores, H. Ochoterena, & M. Moore. 2016. Toward a complete species-level phylogeny of the Tribe Helenieae (Asteraceae). Botany 2016 Abstr.
Thorne R.F. 1993. Phytogeography. In: North America Editorial Committee, eds. Flora of North America, New York: Oxford University Press. 1:132–153.
Turner B.L. 2013. The comps of Mexico. A systematic account of the family Asteraceae. Chapter 11: Tribe Helenieae. Phytologia Mem. 16.
Turner, B.L. & G.L. Nesom. 1993. Biogeography, diversity, and endangered or threatened status of Mexican Asteraceae. In: Ramamoorthy T.P., R. Bye, A. Lot, & J. Fa, eds. Biological diversity of Mexico: Origin and distribution. New York. Pp. 559–575.
Turner, B.L., H. Nichols, G.C. Denny, & O. Doron. 2003. Atlas of the vascular plants of Texas. Sida, Bot. Misc. 24.
Webster, G.L. & J.B. Conrad, eds. 2001. Changing plant life of La Frontera: Observations on vegetation in the U.S./Mexico borderlands. Univ. of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A.
Weigend, M., F. Luebert, F. Selvi, G. Brokamp, & H.H Hilger. 2013. Multiple origins for hounds tongues (Cynoglossum L.) and navel seeds (Omphalodes Mill.)—The phylogeny of the borage family (Boraginaceae s. str.). Molec. Phylogen. Evol. 68:604–618.
Wielgorskaya, T.1995. Dictionary of generic names of seed plants. Columbia University Press, New York, New York, U.S.A.

Publié-e

2017-11-29

Comment citer

Saghatelyan, A. . (2017). Phytogeographical relationships and analysis of the flora of South Texas Plains. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 11(2), 527–561. https://doi.org/10.17348/jbrit.v11.i2.1090

Numéro

Rubrique

FLORISTICS, ECOLOGY, & CONSERVATION