Setting the evolutionary timeline: Tillandsia landbeckii in the Chilean Atacama Desert

Abstract The Chilean Atacama Desert is among the oldest deserts of world. Here, Tillandsia landbeckii forming a unique vegetation type known as lomas. This consists in its typical configuration one single vascular plant species only and forms regular linear structures sloped landscape largely depending on fog occurrence dominant source water supply. Without developing root system, there are few other terrestrial growing bare sand Chile Peru such T. marconae , virescens purpurea or latifolia . Although phylogenetic evidence limited, convergent evolution this growth behavior evident. predominantly arid hyper-arid climate exists since Early Miocene, which raises question about timing evolutionary history. Phylogenomic analyses using whole plastome sequence data highlight onset diversification approximately 500,000 years ago. We also demonstrate subsequent secondary genetic contact with during Late Pleistocene DNA genome size estimates, resulted into formation