Taxonomic revisions using newly available molecular data can have profound consequences for identifying areas of high endemism and, therefore, high conservation priority. A good example of the connection between taxonomy, biodiversity ecology, and conservation issues is genus Phaeiris (Iris subsect. Hexagonae), an endemic taxon of the southeastern United States and in particular P. hexagona (I. hexagona) (Blue Flag), perhaps the best‐known species of this genus. Some authors recently provided evidence for the need to revise the taxonomy of the Blue Flag, which has usually been considered to consist of a single species, P. hexagona. Using molecular and bioclimatic analyses of Blue Flags from Florida and Louisiana, collected at their loci classici, we challenge the notion that P. hexagona is a single species, referring to the almost forgotten taxonomic context of Phaeiris as established by John K. Small and Edward J. Alexander nearly 90 yr ago. Our vision of the P. hexagona complex reinforces the current treatment of Southern Coastal Plain as a biodiversity hotspot. Our results also argue for the complex nature of endemism on the Florida Peninsula, and elsewhere on the Southern Coastal Plain, including a new interpretation of the well‐studied Louisiana irises. We also propose that the valleys of Florida rivers and lakes are likely to harbor additional hidden biodiversity. Accurate taxonomy proved to be a heuristic tool to characterize better the actual level of biodiversity within Southern Coastal Plain as well as to describe the different areas endemism. The newly re‐documented taxonomic diversity in broadly defined P. hexagona should also be considered in future conservation efforts.

中文翻译：

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关于六角形鸢尾花（鸢尾，鸢尾科）的生物多样性和保护

使用新近获得的分子数据进行的分类学修订对于识别高流行性地区具有深远的影响，因此，对保护的优先性很高。分类学，生物多样性生态和保护问题之间的联系的一个很好的例子是属Phaeiris（光圈分节。Hexagonae），特别是美国东南部的和地方性的分类群P. hexagona（一hexagona）（蓝旗），也许该属最著名的物种。一些作者最近提供了证据，证明有必要修改蓝旗的分类法，蓝旗通常被认为是由单一物种P.hexagona组成的。。使用在佛罗里达和路易斯安那州的经典地点收集的蓝旗的分子和生物气候分析，我们挑战了六角形对虾是单一物种的概念，指的是约翰·K·斯莫尔和约翰·爱德华所建立的Phaeiris几乎被遗忘的分类背景。约90年前的亚历山大（J. Alexander）。我们对六角形体育的愿景该综合体加强了当前对南部沿海平原作为生物多样性热点的待遇。我们的研究结果还证明了佛罗里达半岛和南部沿海平原其他地方地方性的复杂性，包括对路易斯安那州鸢尾花的研究得到了新的解释。我们还建议，佛罗里达河流和湖泊的山谷可能会藏有其他隐藏的生物多样性。准确的分类法被证明是一种启发式工具，可以更好地刻画南部沿海平原内生物多样性的实际水平以及描述不同地区的地方性。在将来的保护工作中，也应考虑广泛定义的六角假单胞菌中新记录的生物分类多样性。