Bartonia paniculata subsp. paniculata (Branched Bartonia) and its North American distribution
Branched Bartonia is a threatened wetland plant, and a disjunct Atlantic Coast Floristic element.The northern Ontario populations are considered of significant biogeographical importance being separated from the rest of the range by about 600 km. This project has two goals: 1) to assess whether B. p. paniculata taxonomic status shall be different in Ontario than in USA and 2) to gain insight into past phylogeographic processes that have shaped the current distribution of Ontario endemic plants. We sequenced five chloroplast regions of B. p. paniculata using other Bartonia species as outgroups.
Although of special concern in Maine, Delaware and critically imperiled in Missouri, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, branched Bartonia has a wide range in the USA. B.p.paniculata conservation status was therefore underestimated in Canada, although only 11 populations subsist in Muskoka region.