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Taxonomy, biogeography and evolution of plants
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

There’s gold in them thar hills! Morphology and molecules delimit species in Xerochrysum (Asteraceae; Gnaphalieae) and reveal many new taxa

Timothy L. Collins https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4055-9381 A , Alexander N. Schmidt-Lebuhn https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7402-8941 B * , Rose L. Andrew A , Ian R. H. Telford https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3570-0053 A and Jeremy J. Bruhl https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9112-4436 A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Trevenna Road, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.

B CSIRO, Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Clunies Ross Street, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

* Correspondence to: alexander.s-l@csiro.au

Handling Editor: David Cantrill

Australian Systematic Botany 35(2) 120-185 https://doi.org/10.1071/SB21014
Submitted: 14 April 2021  Accepted: 14 March 2022   Published: 9 June 2022

© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Golden everlasting paper daisies in the genus Xerochrysum Tzvelev are iconic Australian native plants grown worldwide. The X. bracteatum species complex has been regarded as taxonomically confusing and in need of revision for over 60 years. We applied morphological and molecular analyses to delimit species, detect common ancestry among populations, and identify putative hybrids in the genus Xerochrysum (Asteraceae: Gnaphalieae). Multiple lines of evidence provided strong support for the recognition of new taxa. Here we describe the following 11 new species: X. andrewiae T.L.Collins & J.J.Bruhl, X. berarngutta T.L.Collins & I.Telford, X. copelandii J.J.Bruhl & I.Telford, X. frutescens J.J.Bruhl & I.Telford, X. gudang T.L.Collins & J.J.Bruhl, X. hispidum T.L.Collins & I.Telford, X. macsweeneyorum T.L.Collins, X. murapan T.L.Collins & I.Telford, X. neoanglicum J.J.Bruhl & I.Telford, X. strictum T.L.Collins, and X. wilsonii T.L.Collins, reinstate Helichrysum banksii A.Cunn. ex DC. (as X. banksii (A.Cunn. ex DC.) T.L.Collins & I.Telford), lectotypify X. banksii and X. papillosum (Labill.) R.J.Bayer, and recircumscribe X. bicolor (Lindl.) R.J.Bayer to include X. halmaturorum Paul G.Wilson and some populations of X. bracteatum sens. lat. from mainland South Australia and Victoria. We also provide revised descriptions of all taxa in the genus, their conservation status, a dichotomous key, tables distinguishing closely related taxa and distribution maps.

Keywords: Australia, biodiversity, Bracteantha, Compositae, endemic, Helichrysum bracteatum, integrated taxonomy, paper daisy, systematics.


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