Relationships and evolutionary origins of polyploid Dryopteris (Dryopteridaceae) from Europe inferred using nuclear pgiC and plastid trnL-F sequence data

Abstract To test earlier hypotheses on the evolutionary origins of European polyploid Dryopteris , their phylogenetic relationships are investigated using nuclear pgiC and plastid trnL‐F sequence data. The nuclear pgiC region is for the first time used successfully in phylogenetic analyses of ferns, and is shown to provide appropriate variability to address species‐level questions in Dryopteris . The trnL‐F dataset is used to infer maternal relationships for the allopolyploid species and provides strong support for some of the smaller clades resolved by pgiC . Allopolyploid origins of Dryopteris carthusiana, D. cristata , and D. guanchica are supported and some, but not all, progenitors are indicated by the analyses. The results are in disagreement with the " D. semicristata " hypothesis proposed by several authors. The allopolyploid origin of D. crispifolia remained unresolved and allopolyploid origins of D. dilatata and D. filix‐mas were unsupported. This study provides the first insight in the molecular phylogeny of the diploid D. fragrans , which shows major genetic variation within the only European population of the species.