A tough nutlet to crack: Resolving the phylogeny of <i>Thesium</i> (Thesiaceae), the largest genus in Santalales
Journal: Taxon
Year: 2024

Abstract With over 350 species, Thesium is the largest genus in Santalales. It is found on all continents except Antarctica; however, its highest diversity is in the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa where approximately half the species occur. Thesium samples of ca. 590 collections from throughout its entire geographic range were obtained and nuclear ribosomal ITS sequenced from 396 accessions representing 196 named taxa and 30 currently unnamed taxa for a total of ca. 230 species. In additi