Abstract: In order to clarify the interspecific relationships of a lineage in Pleurospermum, P. hookeri C. B. Clarke, P. yunnanense Franch., and P. giraldii Diels, and to understand intraspecific divergence of P. hookeri, a phylogeographic study was carried out based on 198 individuals from 24 populations. Three chloroplast DNA regions, ndhF-rpl32, trnL-trnF, and trnQ-rps16, were sequenced in the present study. The genetic relationship between P. hookeri and P. giraldii is not as close as previously assumed. Pleurospermum hookeri and P. giraldii may originate from an unknown ancestor located in the Qinling region. Pleurospermum yunnanensewas found to be the closest relative of P. hookeri in all the species included in the phylogenetic analysis. The two haplotypes identified from P. yunnanense are shared with P. hookeri, which is potentially a result of both incomplete linkage sorting and introgression. Three large divergences within P. hookeri were identified, located at the northeastern edge, southeastern edge, and platform of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP), respectively. Long-term history can explain the deep intraspecific divergence of P. hookeri. The uplift of the QTP played a key role in that divergence, and then were the climatic changes in the Quaternary. In addition, we found one refugium at the northeastern edge of the QTP, one at the southeastern edge, and at least one in the Hengduan Mountains region on the platform of the QTP.

Key words: interspecific relationships, intraspecific differentiation, phylogeography, Pleurospermum, Qinghai–Tibet Plateau