3.4 Ancestral Area Reconstruction
As the results of ancestral area reconstruction based on cpDNA phylogeny
showed, the most recent common ancestor of the Notholirionspecies probably originated in the Southern Himalayas(region A, blue in the
Figure 9, Nodes Ⅰ) . Meanwhile, the most recent common ancestor ofN. macrophyllum and N. bulbuliferum most likely originated
in the Hengduan Mountains (region C, brown in the Figure 9,
Nodes Ⅱ) . The origin of the genus Notholirion is hypothesized to
have begun with initial divergence in the Southern Himalayas, followed
by migration of a portion of the ancestral taxa to the Eastern
Himalayas. From there, some populations continued to migrate and spread
eastward to the Hengduan Mountains, where they underwent further
divergence.