Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Akademische Festrede--Cologne (Rektoratsübergabe) 1961.

Thesis (M.S.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. David Swofford, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Biological Science. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 24, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Texas at Arlington, 2009.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2006. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-144). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisor: Tandy Warnow. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Rafnia (Fabaceae, Crotalarieae) is sub endemic to the fynbos region of South Africa with one species extending to KwaZulu-Natal. Morphological analysis was unable to resolve the relationships within the genus but provided a working hypothesis for future studies. A molecular phylogeny of Rafnia (Fabaceae) is presented. Sequenced data was obtained from five regions of the chloroplast genome (rps16 intron, accD-psa1 spacer, psbA-trnH intergenic spacer, trnL intron and trnL-F intergenic spacer) and one region of the nuclear genome (ITS). Congruence between the plastid and nuclear datasets were very low and combination of datasets was difficult to justify. Several explanations for the incongruent datasets are proposed. In addition to the species-level analyses of Rafnia, a higher-level analysis was carried out with additional taxa sampled from across the ‘core genistoids’. The resulting phylogeny was used to produce an estimate for the age of Rafnia. / Dr. M. van der Bank

The Eastern Cape is regarded as the centre of diversity for Passerina, except for two species occurring in the outliers of eastern Africa. Ten species are endemic to the Cape Floristic Region and four are regarded as near endemics. A complete species-level phylogeny for Passerina utilising sequences from three plastid and one nuclear gene is presented. The loci sequences were rbcL, trnL-F, rps16 and ITS. Parsimony and Bayesian analysis yield identical relationships and two informal groupings are described. Passerina is well imbedded within the tribe Gnideae and not sister to it as previously suggested. The elevation of the subtribe Passerininae (under the tribe Gnidieae) to the monogeneric tribe Passerineae, is thus not supported. The age of the root node of Passerina was estimated to evaluate the widely held view that much of the diversification in the Cape occurred ca. 5Mya with the start of the Mediterranean climate. Contrary to this, the timing and the temporary dynamics of the radiation of Passerina indicated that the lineage is at least 18 million years old and that the diversification rate had declined slightly over the past 5 million years. In Passerina, it also appears that speciation has been largely allopatric with a high frequency of range shifts. / Dr. M. van der Bank

Lachnaea L. (Thymelaeaceae), a genus established in 1753, is endemic to the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) of southern Africa. It demonstrates a high level of regional endemism, with 55% of the species endemic to one of the six centres in the CFR. The first detailed taxonomic account of the genus was published by Meisner in 1840 based on the collections of Drège. Three sections were recognised, namely Sphaeroclinium Meisn., Conoclinium Meisn., and Microclinium Meisn., based mainly on the inflorescence structure. The circumscription of Lachnaea has been extended to include all five species previously placed in Cryptadenia Meisn. and at present 40 species and two subspecies are recognised. In this study a detailed species-level phylogenetic tree for Lachnaea was produced using 3 283bp of plastid DNA and 679bp of nuclear DNA for 38 accessions and various outgroups. The loci sequenced were trnL intron and trnL-F spacer, rbcL, rps16 intron and the nuclear gene ITS. Parsimony and Bayesian analyses yielded identical relationships and these are consistant with morphological data, producing the best-supported phylogenetic assesment currently available for the genus. Five informal groupings are also described in the study. The start of the diversification of Lachnaea was estimated at 7.2Mya with a major proliferation around 6Mya. Sympatric speciation in this genus appears to be plausible with patterns suggesting that altitudinal differences and pollinators have been involved in the speciation process. / Dr. M. van der Bank

published_or_final_version / Biological Sciences / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy