Phylogenetic relationships of Geranium species indigenous to New Zealand

New Zealand species of Geranium are shown to be closely related, forming a monophyletic group. Relationships inferred from Bayesian and NeighborNet analyses of internal and external transcribed spacer sequences generally agreed and were congruent with those inferred from study of morphological characters. Two groups of species (G. brevicaule and G. retrorsum groups) are well supported based on morphology and DNA sequence data. A third group, referred to as the G. microphyllum group, is recognised based on morphology but is only partially supported by the DNA sequence data. The DNA sequence and morphological variability in each of the G. brevicaule, G. microphyllum, and G. retrorsum groups support the recognition of additional taxonomic entities from New Zealand, but further study is required to address these issues. Furthermore, additional sampling of Australian and South American species of Geranium must be carried out before a taxonomic re-evaluation can be made of sections Andina and Chilensia.