Cryptic species in plants and their detection by genetic differentiation between populations

Abstract

Many cryptic species were found during the past few years in animals, fungi, and algae by their intraspecious genetic differentiation revealed by PCR-based methods. However, they were rarely found in plants. In this review, we summarized the information on the detection of cryptic species of spore and seed plants according to the data on genetic differentiation between populations. The reasons for their rare discovery, the surrounding circumstances, the distinguishing features, and other issues are discussed.