Odontites is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae.

Odontites
Red bartsia (Odontites vernus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Orobanchaceae
Tribe: Rhinantheae
Genus: Odontites
L.
Species

Phylogeny

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The phylogeny of the genera of Rhinantheae has been explored using molecular characters.[1][2] Odontites belongs to the core Rhinantheae. It is the sister genus to Bellardia, and then to Tozzia and Hedbergia. These taxa are closely related to the genus Euphrasia. In turn, these five genera share phylogenetic affinities with Bartsia.

Genus-level cladogram of tribe Rhinantheae.
  Rhinantheae  
         

  Melampyrum  

         

  Rhynchocorys  

         

  Lathraea

  Rhinanthus

  Core Rhinantheae  
         

  Bartsia sensu stricto (Bartsia alpina)

         

  Euphrasia

         

  Hedbergia
  (including Bartsia decurva + B. longiflora)

  Tozzia

  Odontites sensu lato
  (including Bartsiella
  and Bornmuellerantha)

         

  Bellardia

         

  Neobartsia
(New World Bartsia)

  Parentucellia

The cladogram has been reconstructed from nuclear and plastid DNA molecular characters (ITS, rps16 intron and trnK region).[1][2]

Conservation

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One of the Odontites species, O. granatensis, endemic to the Sierra Nevada in Spain, was so threatened that in 1993 only 1,500 plants survived in two locations. Due to conservation efforts the plant has made a comeback, numbering over 100,000 in 2006.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Těšitel, Jakub; Říha, Pavel; Svobodová, Šárka; Malinová, Tamara; Štech, Milan (2010-10-28). "Phylogeny, Life History Evolution and Biogeography of the Rhinanthoid Orobanchaceae". Folia Geobotanica. 45 (4): 347–367. Bibcode:2010FolGe..45..347T. doi:10.1007/s12224-010-9089-y. ISSN 1211-9520.
  2. ^ a b Scheunert, Agnes; Fleischmann, Andreas; Olano-Marín, Catalina; Bräuchler, Christian; Heubl, Günther (2012-12-14). "Phylogeny of tribe Rhinantheae (Orobanchaceae) with a focus on biogeography, cytology and re-examination of generic concepts". Taxon. 61 (6): 1269–1285. doi:10.1002/tax.616008.
  3. ^ "Evitan la extinción de dos plantas endémicas de Sierra Nevada" (in Spanish). ABC.es. 2006-06-26. Retrieved 2009-01-12.