Plant evolution using molecular and morphological data

New Visual Guide to the Sclerophyllous-Leafed Shrubs in the Santa Ana Mountains of Southern California Link to the pdf







Lab Updates

August 5-10, 2019 Amanda traveled to Florida with RSABG botanist Dr. Carrie Kiel to collect Justicia for the NSF-funded project on pollinator mediated selection.

August, 2019 Members of the lab traveled the Tucson, Arizona for the international Botany conference! Robert Comito and I gave talks and students presented posters: Harrison McGowan on the Flora of Chiquito Springs Basin, Laymon Ball on Justicia californica reproductive biology, Keana Tang on chaparral leaf shapes, and Bryana Olmeda & Marina Rice on herbarium digitization.

May 2, 2019 Robert Comito successfully defended his MS thesis “A RADseq Phylogeny of Barleria (Acanthaceae) Resolves Fine-Scale Relationships” with committee members Dr. Judy Brusslan and Dr. Iain Darbyshire (Kew).

April 30, 2019 Joshua Arias successfully defended his MS thesis “Phylogenomic Framework of the Plant Family Acanthaceae” with committee members Dr. Judy Brusslan and Dr. Renaud Berlemont.

April 25, 2019 Harrison McGowan presented his MS thesis proposal “A Vascular Plant Checklist of Chiquito Springs Basin, Santa Ana Mountains, California” with committee members Dr. Naomi Fraga (Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden) and Dr. Christine Whitcraft.

April 4, 2019 New paper out in TAXON: Darbyshire, I., Fisher, A.E., Kiel, C.A. and McDade, L.A., “Phylogenetic relationships among species of Barleria (Acanthaceae, Lamiales): Molecular data reveal complex patterns of morphological evolution and support a revised classification.”