Resolving the Tetrastigma loheri s.l. species complex (Vitaceae) in the Philippines: No evidence for recognizing more than one species

Tetrastigma loheri (Vitaceae) is a vine species native to Borneo and the Philippines. Because it is a commonly encountered forest species in the Philippines, T. loheri is potentially suitable for studying patterns of genetic diversity and connectivity among fragmented forest ecosystems in various parts of this country. However, previous research suggests that T. loheri is part of a species complex in the Philippines (i.e. the T. loheri s. l. complex) that potentially also contains Philippine plants identified as T. diepenhorstii, T. philippinense, T. stenophyllum, and T. trifoliolatum. This uncertainty about its taxonomic delimitation can make it challenging to draw conclusions that are relevant to conservation from genetic studies using this species. Here, we tested the hypothesis that T. loheri s.l. is composed of more than one species in the Philippines. For this, we used generalized mixed Yule coalescent (GMYC) and Poisson tree process (PTP) species delimitation models to identify c...