Daisies Down Under: Review of the state of taxonomy and phylogenetics of native Australian Asteraceae

Alexander N. Schmidt-Lebuhn

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

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7402-8941

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.53875/capitulum.01.2.03

ABSTRACT: Because of the long history of isolation of Australia, the continent is home to a unique diversity of Asteraceae. The native daisy flora of ca. 1,105 species is dominated by Gnaphalieae, Astereae, Senecioneae, and Inuleae, whereas other globally diverse tribes such as Cardueae, Cichorieae, or Heliantheae are poorly represented. The last ca. forty years have seen taxonomic revisions of most major genera of Australian Asteraceae with the notable exceptions of Olearia and Ozothamnus. Despite this, current genus-level classification is often based on few morphological characters traditionally considered important (e.g., presence of pappus or capitulum scales). It is therefore likely that many genera are non-monophyletic in their current circumscriptions, as recently confirmed (e.g., for Coronidium, Olearia, and Ozothamnus). As of writing, phylogenetic studies of several other taxa are being conducted or under review. Once phylogenetic relationships have been resolved, the research focus will shift to understanding the evolution of the continental Asteraceae flora in time and space and the impact of Australia’s aridification and key evolutionary and biogeographic events on patterns of diversification. 

Keywords: Australia, phylogenetics, taxonomy, review