Delimitation and Phylogeny in Fritillaria Species (Liliaceae) Endemic to Alps

The number of <i>Fritillaria</i> species native to the Alps has long been debated, and observational biases due to the short flowering periods and the scattered distributions of endemic <i>Fritillaria</i> populations along the mountain range have probably made the task of botanists more complicated. Moreover, previous phylogenetic studies in <i>Fritillaria</i> have considered alpine taxa only marginally. To test species boundaries within the <i>F. tubaeformis</i> species complex and to study their phylogenetic relationships, intra- and inter-specific genetic variability of sixteen samples belonging to four <i>Fritillaria</i> species was carried out in different localities of the Maritime and Ligurian Alps, with extensions to the rest of the Alpine arc. The combined use of five plastid DNA markers (<i>mat</i>K, <i>ndh</i>F, <i>rpl</i>16, <i>rpo</i>C1, and <i>pet</i>A-<i>psb</i>J) and nrITS showed that <i>F. tubaeformis</i> and <i>F. burnatii</i> are phylogenetically independent taxa, fully confirming morphological and morphometric divergences and, that <i>F. burnatii</i> is not related phylogenetically to the central European <i>F. meleagris</i>. Our phylogenetic study also supports the separation of <i>F. tubaeformis</i> from <i>F. moggridgei</i>, pointing to environment/ecological constraints or reproductive barriers as possible causes of their distinct evolutionary status. Our analysis also showed that the mountain endemic <i>F. involucrata</i> is not closely related to <i>F. tubaeformis</i>, contrasting with previous studies. The phylogenetic analysis of the nrITS region supports a close relationship between <i>F. burnatii</i> and <i>F. moggridgei</i>, but with low statistical support.