TY - JOUR
T1 - From european priority species to invasive weed
T2 - Marsilea azorica (Marsileaceae) is a misidentified Alien
AU - Schaefer, Hanno
AU - Carine, Mark A.
AU - Rumsey, Fred J.
PY - 2011/10
Y1 - 2011/10
N2 - The clover fern Marsilea azorica was described in 1983 from the isolated Azores archipelago in the northern Atlantic, where it is restricted to a single roadside pond. Thought to be an extremely local endemic, it was subsequently listed as a conservation priority species for the Azores, Macaronesia, and Europe, included as 'critically endangered' on the IUCN red list, and as 'strictly protected' species by the Bern convention and the European Union's habitats directive. However, we present morphological and molecular data (rbcL gene, rps4 gene, rps4-trnS spacer and trnL-trnF spacer sequences), which demonstrate that M. azorica is conspecific with M. hirsuta, a species native to Australia, but widely cultivated and locally invasive in the southern U. S. A. Based on our DNA data, we conclude that these plants are most likely a recent introduction to the Azores from Florida. We recommend removal of Azorean Marsilea from conservation priority lists. While there is no evidence that the small existing population threatens native species, further spread in the Azores should be prevented.
AB - The clover fern Marsilea azorica was described in 1983 from the isolated Azores archipelago in the northern Atlantic, where it is restricted to a single roadside pond. Thought to be an extremely local endemic, it was subsequently listed as a conservation priority species for the Azores, Macaronesia, and Europe, included as 'critically endangered' on the IUCN red list, and as 'strictly protected' species by the Bern convention and the European Union's habitats directive. However, we present morphological and molecular data (rbcL gene, rps4 gene, rps4-trnS spacer and trnL-trnF spacer sequences), which demonstrate that M. azorica is conspecific with M. hirsuta, a species native to Australia, but widely cultivated and locally invasive in the southern U. S. A. Based on our DNA data, we conclude that these plants are most likely a recent introduction to the Azores from Florida. We recommend removal of Azorean Marsilea from conservation priority lists. While there is no evidence that the small existing population threatens native species, further spread in the Azores should be prevented.
KW - Azorean endemic
KW - Azores
KW - DNA barcoding
KW - invasive ferns
KW - molecular phylogenetics
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=81855180641&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1600/036364411X604868
DO - 10.1600/036364411X604868
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:81855180641
SN - 0363-6445
VL - 36
SP - 845
EP - 853
JO - Systematic Botany
JF - Systematic Botany
IS - 4
ER -