RECOGNITION OF THE NEW-WORLD DISPORUM SECTION PROSARTES AS PROSARTES (LILIACEAE) BASED ON THE SEQUENCE DATA OF THE RBCL GENE

A review of the morphological and karyological data relevant to the pr oblem of the generic distinctness of Disporurn and Prosartes is presen ted. The chloroplast gene encoding rbcL for two species of each Dispor um and Prosartes plus one of each Uvularia, Streptopus and Tricyrtis w as sequenced. The data clearly separate two genera Prosartes (N. Ameri ca) and Disporum (E. Asia) that were traditionally combined under the latter name. There is much more divergence between Disporum and Prosar tes than between each pair of their component species, and considerabl y more than between Disporum and Uvularia or between Prosartes and Str eptopus. The rbcL sequence data thus support the restoration of the ge nus Prosartes. A synonymic conspectus of Prosartes is given, and one n ew combination is proposed.