Clarifying the Lepidosperma laterale assemblage (Cyperaceae) in north-eastern New South Wales.

Shelley Rowntree (University of New England); Jeremy Bruhl (University of New England); Karen L. Wilson (Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust); Russell Barrett (Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust); Rose Andrew (University of New England).

Lepidosperma Labill., or ‘sword’ sedge, is a genus of 81 described species found primarily in Australia. The genus contains far more morphological variation than is explained by current taxonomy. The assemblage of L. laterale (variable sword sedge) and its close relatives has been challenging to resolve because of morphological variability within and between putative species. Previous studies of the assemblage identified both congruence and incongruence between morphology and molecular data. Current taxonomy within the L. laterale assemblage is based almost entirely on morphological characters. In my Honours project, I applied reduced representation sequencing to increase the power of molecular analysis in an integrative taxonomic assessment of the Lepidosperma laterale assemblage in north-eastern New South Wales. Multiple lines of evidence provided strong support for three new species from the New England Tableland and North Coast of New South Wales and the narrowing of the concept of L. laterale sens. strict. This approach provides a framework to resolve the remaining taxonomic issues within the assemblage.