CIRCUMSCRIPTION OF ERICACEAE (ERICALES) AS DETERMINED BY PRELIMINARY CLADISTIC ANALYSES BASED ON MORPHOLOGICAL, ANATOMICAL, AND EMBRYOLOGICAL FEATURES

Cladistic analyses of selected taxa of Ericaceae an potential relative s) suggest that the family, as traditionally circumscribed, is paraphy letic. The traditionally recognized groups, Monotropaceae, Pyrolaceae, Epacridaceae, and Empetraceae, are nested within the cladistic struct ure of Ericaceae, and it seems reasonable to expand the circumscriptio n of the latter. Preliminary analyses suggest that Actinidia (Actinidi aceae) likely is cladistically basal within Ericales, with Cyrilla (Cy rillaceae) and Clethra (Clethraceae) positioned, respectively, as seco nd and first outgroups to Ericaceae. Generic relationships within Eric aceae are highly unresolved due to extensive homoplasy, but Enkianthus appears to be the sister group of the remaining ericad genera. The cu rrent division of the family into five subfamilies, i.e., Rhododendroi deae, Ericoideae, Vaccinioideae, Pyroloideae, and Monotropoideae, very likely is not in accordance with phylogenetic relationships.