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Calliscirpus, a new genus for two narrow endemics of the California Floristic Province, C. criniger and C. brachythrix sp. nov. (Cyperaceae)

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Summary

Although the polyphyletic genus Scirpus L. s.l. (formerly > 200 species) has been divided into more than 50 separate genera and now consists of only 64 species, its circumscription remains problematical. Three new genera have been segregated from Scirpus s.s. in the past decade, and the delimitation of Scirpus from its possible sister genus Eriophorum L. (c. 18 species) is still unresolved. The primary character used to delimit Eriophorum from Scirpus is ≥ 10 smooth, elongate perianth bristles vs ≤ 6 short, serrulate bristles or a lack of bristles, but some species display character combinations that make it difficult to place them in either genus. Eriophorum crinigerum (A. Gray) Beetle (= Scirpus criniger A. Gray), endemic to the California Floristic Province, USA, is one such species, possessing a unique combination of bristle and inflorescence features that suggest affinities with both Scirpus and Eriophorum. In this study we use molecular (matK, ndhF), morphological, and embryological data to demonstrate that E. crinigerum is not closely related to either Scirpus or Eriophorum, but represents a new generic lineage, here named Calliscirpus C. N. Gilmour, J. R. Starr & Naczi (tribe Scirpeae). Within the genus, molecular (matK, ETS 1f) and morphological data strongly support the recognition of two species, each of which is restricted to a distinct region of high endemism. Calliscirpus criniger (A. Gray) C. N. Gilmour, J. R. Starr & Naczi comb. nov. is common to the Klamath-Siskiyou and North Coast mountain ranges of Oregon and California, whereas a new species, Calliscirpus brachythrix C. N. Gilmour, J. R. Starr & Naczi, is unique to the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California. Scirpus maximowiczii C. B. Clarke, another transitional species that has blurred the limits of Scirpus and Eriophorum, and has been cited as morphologically similar to Calliscirpus species in the past, is strongly placed within a Scirpus s.s. + Eriophorum s.s. clade (100% bootstrap) on the basis of molecular and embryological data. Tree support and taxonomic sampling are not sufficient to resolve the delimitation of Eriophorum s.s. from Scirpus s.s.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the curators of the following herbaria without whose specimens this study would not have been possible: A, CAN, CAS, CHSC, DAO, DOV, DS, JEPS, NY, OSC, PH, UC, US, WS. We would also like to thank Drs Paul Hamilton and André Martel of the Canadian Museum of Nature (CMN) for help with ESEM and light microscopy work. The comments of two anonymous reviewers were greatly appreciated. This research was conducted as part of the requirements for a M.Sc. at the University of Ottawa (UofO) with support from an NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canadian Graduate Scholarship, an Ontario Graduate Scholarship, an Excellence Scholarship from the UofO, and a Systematics Research Graduate Supplement (CMN) to CNG. This research was funded by an NSERC Discovery Grant to JRS.

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  1. Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, ON, K1P 6P4, Canada

    C. N. Gilmour & J. R. Starr

  2. Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada

    C. N. Gilmour & J. R. Starr

  3. The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY, 10458-5126, USA

    R. F. C. Naczi

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Gilmour, C.N., Starr, J.R. & Naczi, R.F.C. Calliscirpus, a new genus for two narrow endemics of the California Floristic Province, C. criniger and C. brachythrix sp. nov. (Cyperaceae). Kew Bull 68, 85–105 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-012-9420-2

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