Phylogeography of the Burrowing Four O’clock, Okenia hypogaea (Nyctaginaceae)

The burrowing four o’clock or beach peanut, Okenia hypogaea (Nyctaginaceae), is a vine found on beaches of southeast Florida, Mexico, and Central America. This species was described from Mexico in 1830 and discovered in Florida near Miami in 1903. Since then, O. hypogaea has been considered a rare native species in Florida. For my thesis, I proposed to test the hypothesis that O. hypogaea is exotic to Florida by comparing the genetic diversity of populations in Florida with populations in Mexico. The first gene I examined was identical across all populations tested in Mexico and Florida. I am currently working on examining a more variable gene.