Systematic studies on Heptaptera Margot & Reut. (Apiaceae) species distributed in Turkey

The genus Heptaptera (Apiaceae) consists of eight species distributed in Southern Europe and Southwest Asia in the world. Among them, H. cilicica being endemic, H. anisopetala, H. anatolica and H. triquetra species occur in our country. In this study, phylogenetic studies of Heptaptera species distributed in Turkey were carried out for the first time with 'maximum likelihood and 'Bayes' approaches based on multi-locular (ribosomal and plastidic) DNA sequence datasets. H. angustifolia, which is endemic to Italy, and H. microcarpa, which is collected from Syria, were investigated phylogenetically for the first time. Thus, the evolutionary relationships of six (one is now synonymous, five being valid) Heptaptera species have been put forward. It has been determined for the first time that Heptaptera is not monophyletic due to the nesting of the taxon Petroedmondia syriaca in the genus. It has been demonstrated for the first time that there are gene flow among species H. anisopetala, H. cilicica, and H. anatolica. In addition, many Heptaptera populations collected within the scope of the thesis and seen by going to herbariums were morphologically examined. The propositions in the species identification key of the genus are especially enriched with leaf characters. With this identification key, it is easier to identify samples without mature fruit. The neotype of H. anisopetala is designeated here firstly. As a result of the phenetic analysis of the entire morphological data set, H. triquetra settled further than the other three species. This result was compatible with infrageneric classification; supported by phylogenetic results. Heptaptera pollen is trizonocolporate, radially symmetrical and isopolar. Exine ornamentation is rugulate-perforate. In the phenetic analysis of pollen morphology data, H. cilicica, but not H. triquetra, was distinctly separated from the other three species. Therefore, the results of the phenetic analysis based pollen morphology were not compatible with the current taxonomic classification of the genus. Some morphological characters thought to play a role in infrageneric classification have been mapped for the first time on evolutionary relationship hypothesis tree based on the obtained DNA sequences. It has been determined that the wings in the mericarps have a genus-specific synapomorphic character state.