Phylogeny and chemophenetics of the newly described Doronicum ×longeflorens and related Doronicum taxa (Senecioneae, Asteraceae)

Abstract

Doronicum × longeflorens E.Chr. is a newly discovered, but already long existing, and at least in the East of Schleswig-Holstein/Germany, well established hybrid. The hybrid stems from a crossing of Doronicum columnae Ten. and Doronicum pardalianches L. The newly described taxon has presumably been grown in gardens in Eastern Holstein since decades. The new taxon was characterized morphologically, chemophenetically, and using DNA-based phylogenetic methods. Chemophenetic investigations also included related taxa D. austriacum Jacq., D. clusii (All.) Tausch, D. columnae, D. orientale Hoffm., D. pardalianches, D. plantagineum L. as well as the hybrids D. × excelsum (N.E.Br.) Stace (D. columnae × D. pardalianches × D. plantagineum), and D. × willdenowii (Rouy) A.B.Jacks (D. pardalianches × D. plantagineum). Chemophenetic investigations were performed analyzing the phenolic compounds of flowering heads by UHPLC-DAD-MS. While chemophenetic data showed only slight quantitative differences between the analyzed taxa, data of DNA-based phylogenetic analyses supported the assumption, based on the morphology of the taxon, that D. × longeflorens is a hybrid derived from D. columnae and D. pardalianches.