Range restriction of a regional endemic from central France, sympatric with a widespread congener, can be sufficiently explained by historical causes

Understanding the causes that restrict geographic distributions of plant species is of major interest for evolutionary and conservation biologists alike. Inferring historical factors, such as past climate fluctuations, has often relied on ad hoc interpretations of genetic data, and hypothesis testing within a statistical framework under scenarios involving complex demographic events have remained grossly underutilized especially in narrowly distributed species.Using coalescent modeling on RAD-sequencing data from European Phyteuma (Campanulaceae) we (i) test competing hypotheses about the origin of Ph. gallicum, a range-restricted endemic of the French Massif Central growing sympatrically with a widespread congener and (ii) date the origin of Ph. gallicum, irrespective of its mode of origin, to test the hypothesis that the restricted range is due to a recent time of origin.