Abstract Detail

Systematics

Grinage, Ayress [1], Landis, Jacob [2], Majure, Lucas C. [3], Valderrama, Eugenio [4], Gandolfo, Maria [5], Specht, Chelsea [6].

Deciphering the Tales of Sabal from the Crypt: Insights from Past Collections.

Sabal (Arecaceae: Coryphoideae) is a neotropical lineage with a long palaeobotanical history. Currently, there are 17 species of Sabal recognized, for which the majority of the lineage is distributed in Mexico and the Caribbean. Notably, even though the oldest fossil of Sabal is dated to the Cretaceous, crown-Sabal is only about 20 million years old. Evidence suggests that Sabal experienced extensive extinctions leading to the diversification of crown-Sabal. Phylogenetically, Sabal is resolved as sister to Cryosophileae with strong support in a previous analysis derived from molecular sequence data. Nonetheless, there are still many holes in the natural history of Sabal left to be resolved. What drove the diversification of Sabal in the Yucatan and the Caribbean? How are the xeromorphic species of Sabal morphologically distinguished from mesomorphic taxa? Why is S. minor morphologically diverse on the Gulf Coast but monomorphic on the Atlantic Coast? With the use of molecular sequence (i.e. plastome and nuclear loci) data coupled with morphological, anatomical, and ecological data I will present answers to some of these questions. This work utilizes historical and living palm collections from the LH Bailey Hortorium and Montgomery Botanical Center, respectively.

1 - Cornell University, School of Integrative Plant Science, Section of Plant Biology and L.H. Bailey Hortorium, Mann Library, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
2 - Cornell University, School of Integrative Plant Science, Section of Plant Biology and the L.H. Bailey Hortorium, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14850, USA
3 - University of Florida Herbarium (FLAS), Florida Museum of Natural Hist, Gainesville, FL, USA
4 - Cornell University, Plant Biology, CALS, 510 Mann Library, Ithaca, NY, 14853, United States
5 - Cornell University, L. H. Bailey Hortorium, Plant Biology Section, SIPS, 406 Mann Library Building, Plant Biology Section, Ithaca, NY, 14853, United States
6 - Cornell University, School of Integrative Plant Science, Section of Plant Biology and L.H. Bailey Hortorium, 502 Mann Library, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

Keywords:
Sabal
Palms
Systematics
morphology
genomics
Speciation
Ecology.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: COOLI, ASPT Cooley Award Talks I
Location: Virtual/Virtual
Date: Wednesday, July 21st, 2021
Time: 11:00 AM(EDT)
Number: COOLI005
Abstract ID:603
Candidate for Awards:George R. Cooley Award