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Diversification And Coexistence In The Madagascar Olive (Noronhia, Oleaceae), Cynthia Hong-Wa
Diversification And Coexistence In The Madagascar Olive (Noronhia, Oleaceae), Cynthia Hong-Wa
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The long-isolated island of Madagascar provides a suitable setting for studying species diversification, with most groups of organisms there both radiating and showing a high level of endemism. Noronhia is one of these groups and represents the most successful radiation of the olive family (Oleaceae) in Madagascar, with ca. 80 species. In this study, using plastid and nuclear DNA sequences obtained from a comprehensive sampling both within Noronhia and the family, I show that Noronhia, together with Indian Ocean species of Chionanthus, form a monophyletic clade sister to African Chionanthus. The diversification of Noronhia followed a likely Cenozoic dispersal from …