Origin, Adaptive Radiation, And Diversification Of The Hawaiian Lobeliads

Based on the extent of their morphological divergence, the Hawaiian lobeliads were long thought to represent up to five colonizations of the most isolated archipelago on Earth.


We present a molecular phylogeny showing that they are instead the product of one colonization event and are the largest plant lineage on any single oceanic island or archipelago.


Their ancestor arrived roughly 13 million years ago, and appears to have been woody, wind-dispersed, and bird-pollinated.


Limited fruit dispersal distances in forest understories accelerated speciation in generating parallel adaptive radiations on successive islands, with net diversification saturating in less than 1.5 My.


Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences


Proceedings B is the Royal Society's flagship biological research journal, dedicated to the rapid publication and broad dissemination of high-quality research papers, reviews and comment and reply papers. The scope of journal is diverse and is especially strong in organismal biology.


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