Species diversity and differentiation of Asarum in the Ryukyu Islands

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Floral and cytological characteristics, distributional pattern, and molecular phylogeny were examined to clarify the species diversity and the process of species differentiation of Asarum (Aristolochiaceae) distributed in the Ryukyu Islands. Throughout the present investigation, we found a new taxon distributed restrictedly on the Amami-Oshima Island. Based on the morphological characteristics and the distributional pattern, it appears likely that there are three lineages among the species occurring in the Amami-Oshima Island groups. The sequences from ITS region were invariable among the examined species and thus we could not have any information available for the phylogenetic relationships among the species of Asarum in the Ryukyu Islands.