ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Systematics and Evolution
Does floral phenotyping reflect species integrity and natural hybridization of endangered Calanthe species on an oceanic island?
Provisionally accepted
- National Institute of Ecology, SeoCheon, Republic of Korea
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Floral phenotyping provides invaluable information for conserving genetic diversity of endangered plants. Endangered orchid, Calanthe aristulifera was selected to assess the applicability of phenotyping for identifying genetic variability and species integrity, given its morphological variations and natural hybridization on an oceanic island. Phenotyping using flower color and size (phenotypes 1 and 2) were compared with molecular data from genotyping-by-sequencing across C. aristulifera and coexisting allied (Calanthe sieboldii) and hybrid (Calanthe × kibanakirishima) species to track their species integrity and patterns in hybridization. Principal coordinates analysis and phylogenetic clustering showed no genetic difference between the floral phenotypes of C. aristulifera, by which C. aristulifera populations featured higher species integrity and lower genetic diversity than the coexisting allied species despite the divergence in floral morphology. Inversely, such phenotypic divergence well corresponded to interspecific genetic variability and the level of hybridization within C. × kibanakirishima. Floral morphological difference between the phenotypes of C. × kibanakirishima and hybrid index analysis particularly reflected the asymmetrical backcrossing and introgression toward C. sieboldi instead of C. aristulifera as a result of the similarities in floral morphology between the hybrids and C. sieboldii. In terms of biodiversity conservation, overall findings exhibit that divergence in floral morphologies may not ensure well-preserved genetic diversity or reduced species integrity of the endangered orchid. Some species may require the exigent protection of genetic diversity from the risk of genetic bottleneck, regardless of their marked phenotypic divergence.
Keywords: Backcrossing, Calanthe aristulifera, genetic diversity, Introgression, Morphological divergence, plant phenomics, Population Genetics
Received: 28 Aug 2025; Accepted: 10 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Kim, Hwang, Lee, Park, Park and Kim. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Seongjun Kim
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