The evolutionary history of Sium sensu lato (Apiaceae): dispersal, vicariance, and domestication as inferred from ITS rDNA phylogeny.

The biogeographic history of Sium sensu lato (s.l.) (including Sium sensu stricto [s.s.], Afrocarum, and Berula) was inferred using a nuclear rDNA ITS sequence phylogeny and dispersal-vicariance analysis. One hundred accessions were analyzed, including 86 specimens of Sium s.l., representing all taxa throughout their geographical range. The phylogenetic analyses showed that Afrocarum and the African and St. Helena species of Sium were nested within Berula forming the Berula s.l. clade. The remaining species of Sium constituted a weakly supported Sium s.s. clade. The cultivated S. sisarum is closely related to the western Asian S. sisaroideum. The divergence of Sium s.s. from Berula s.l., estimated under the assumption of a molecular clock and using a substitution rate of 0.61% per million years, took place around 10.4 million years ago. Dispersal-vicariance analysis suggested that the biogeographic pattern of this group resulted from simple vicariance and eventual migration to adjacent areas rather than from long-distance dispersal. The ancestral area of Sium s.l. was probably western Palearctic. The dispersal of Berula to North America occurred ca. 3 million years ago, possibly by island hopping. The migration of S. suave to North America took place ca 0.6 million years ago through Beringia.