Molecular phylogenetics and morphological reappraisal of the Platanthera clade (Orchidaceae: Orchidinae) prompts expansion of the generic limits of Galearis and Platanthera

Abstract

Resolution of major groups should facilitate future species-level research on the Platanthera clade. Recent evidence suggests that ITS sequence divergence characterizes most species other than the P. bifolia group. The floral differences that distinguished Piperia, Diphylax and Tsaiorchis from Platanthera, and Aceratorchis and Chondradenia from Galearis, reflect various forms of heterochrony (notably paedomorphosis); this affected both the perianth and the gynostemium, and may have proved adaptive in montane habitats. Floral reduction was combined with lateral expansion of the root tubers in Piperia and Diphylax (including Tsaiorchis), whereas root tubers were minimized in the putative (but currently poorly supported) Neolindleya-Galearis clade. Allopolyploidy and/or autogamy strongly influenced speciation in Platanthera section Limnorchis and perhaps also Neolindleya. Reproductive biology remains an important driver of evolution in the clade, though plant-pollinator specificity and distinctness of the species boundaries have often been exaggerated.