Variations in hair types and stamen patterns between species of the south-eastern Australian clade of Hibbertia subgen. Hemistema (Dilleniaceae)

Abstract

The genus Hibbertia Andrews has been studied for over two hundred years, but details of the phylogenetic relationships between species within eastern and southern Australia have not been fully addressed, nor have the precise limits of intraspecific variation. Accordingly, this study focuses on the more than 125 species and subspecies which form the eastern and southern Australian clade of Hibbertia subgenus Hemistema. In particular, since some Hibbertia species display wide variation and are often difficult to identify reliably, the study uses a combination of morphological and anatomical characteristics to determine taxon boundaries within the clade. The phylogenetic relationships between the species and the circumscription of any resulting groups within this part of the subgenus can then be determined.