Collaborative Research: Phylogenetic, Biogeographic and Monographic Studies in the Wintergreen Group

冬青属是蓝莓和杜鹃花科（Ericaceae）的一部分，大约有250种。也许它最著名的物种是高卢菌（Gaultheria procumbens），它是冬青油（水杨酸甲酯）的原始来源。这个群体的成员生长在北美和南美以及环太平洋沿岸的土地上。研究的目的是重建群体中的进化关系，并以此来检验地理分布和生长形式变化的具体假设。该项目汇集了具有Ericaceae，分子系统学，形态学和历史生物地理学专业知识的研究人员。该项目将采用全球方法，使用来自不同基因组和形态的多个数据集，为冬青类群提供第一个全面的系统发育。该提案的更广泛影响包括培训研究生和本科生，包括代表性不足的群体的成员。任何对亚洲、环太平洋地区和南美生物多样性、生态学、授粉生物学和生态生理学感兴趣的人都可以访问数据和结果（www.ericaceae.org）。该项目的成果将被纳入公共博物馆项目，并融入Kron博士的教学课程。

The wintergreen group is a part of the blueberry and rhododendron family (Ericaceae) that contains about 250 species. Perhaps its best known species is Gaultheria procumbens, the original source of wintergreen oil (methyl salicylate). Members of this group grow in North and South America and in the lands bordering the Pacific Rim. The objectives of the research are to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships in the group and to use this to test specific hypotheses of geographic distribution and changes in growth form. This project brings together researchers with particular expertise in Ericaceae, molecular systematics, morphology, and historical biogeography. This project will take a global approach and use multiple data sets from different genomes and morphology to provide the first comprehensive phylogeny for the wintergreen group. The broader impacts of the proposal include training of graduate and undergraduate students, including members of underrepresented groups. Data and results will be accessible (www.ericaceae.org) to anyone interested in Asian, Pacific Rim, and South American biodiversity, ecology, pollination biology, and ecological physiology. Results of the project will be incorporated into public museum programs and integrated into Dr. Kron's teaching curriculum.