Delimitation and Phylogeny in Species (Liliaceae) Endemic to Alps.

The number of species native to the Alps has long been debated, and observational biases due to the short flowering periods and the scattered distributions of endemic populations along the mountain range have probably made the task of botanists more complicated. Moreover, previous phylogenetic studies in have considered alpine taxa only marginally. To test species boundaries within the species complex and to study their phylogenetic relationships, intra- and inter-specific genetic variability of sixteen samples belonging to four species was carried out in different localities of the Maritime and Ligurian Alps, with extensions to the rest of the Alpine arc. The combined use of five plastid DNA markers (K, F, 16, C1, and A-J) and nrITS showed that and are phylogenetically independent taxa, fully confirming morphological and morphometric divergences and, that is not related phylogenetically to the central European . Our phylogenetic study also supports the separation of from , pointing to environment/ecological constraints or reproductive barriers as possible causes of their distinct evolutionary status. Our analysis also showed that the mountain endemic is not closely related to , contrasting with previous studies. The phylogenetic analysis of the nrITS region supports a close relationship between and , but with low statistical support.