CLADISTIC-ANALYSIS OF CHLOROPLAST DNA RESTRICTION SITE CHARACTERS IN ERYTHRINA (LEGUMINOSAE, PHASEOLEAE)

Chloroplast DNA restriction site variation was examined in 60 species of Erythrina (Leguminosae: Phaseoleae). This sample represents four of the five subgenera and most sections of this pantropical, woody, and ornithophilous genus of 112 species. Cladistic analysis of restriction site characters resulted in numerous most parsimonious trees, but the strict consensus tree was highly resolved. Low levels of resolution b ecause of absence of characters were confined to a single clade repres enting plastomes sampled from a large group of closely related species . The groupings obtained from the chloroplast DNA characters were gene rally consistent with the traditional infrageneric classification sche me for the genus. Plastome lineages of only one of the four subgenera surveyed was monophyletic, but those of most sections or of groups of closely related sections were monophyletic. The gene tree suggests tha t members of the African subg. Chirocalyx and of the Paleotropical sub g. Erythraster are closely related and sister to African and Asian mem bers of subg. Erythrina. Chloroplast DNA relationships indicate that h ummingbird pollination, considered derived relative to passerine polli nation, evolved convergently in at least three distinct lineages and t hat reversals to passerine pollination also may have occurred.