Molecular evidence of polyphyletism in the plant genus Carum L. (Apiaceae)

An analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) DNA sequences of the four species of Carum L. (Apiaceae) known in Italy revealed that this genus is polyphyletic. Maximum parsimony with bootstrap resampling, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses resulted in three distinct clades: Carum carvi L. clustered within tribe Careae Baill. (former Aegopodium clade); Hellenocarum multiflorum (= Carum multiflorum), Carum heldreichii and Carum appuanum clustered within the tribe Pyramidoptereae Boiss.; and H. multiflorum and C. heldreichii formed a well supported clade. Since the sister group...