Sarraceniaceae, a New World family of carnivorous plants, consist of S
arracenia, Heliamphora, and the monotypic Darlingtonia. Despite extens
ive interest in these plants, few explicit phylogenetic hypotheses are
available for the family. We investigate phylogenetic relationships i
n the family using sequences of the internal transcribed spacer region
s of nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS) and of the chloroplast gene rbcL. One
representative of each genus was sequenced for rbcL, whereas represen
tatives of all species in the family, except for H. heterodoxa and H.
ionasii, were sequenced for ITS. Both the ITS- and rbcl-based phylogen
ies demonstrate that Sarracenia and Heliamphora form a monophyletic gr
oup that is the sister group of Darlingtonia. Sarracenia and Heliampho
ra are each well supported monophyletic genera. In our restricted samp
ling of Heliamphora, H. nutans is the sister of H. minor and H. tatei.
Our results provide little resolution of relationships among species
of Sarracenia, but identify one dade that consists of all species exce
pt S. alata. Within this clade are two smaller clades comprising:-1) S
. purpurea and S. leucophylla,-and-2) S. flava, S. minor, and S. psitt
acina.