PHYLOGENETIC-RELATIONSHIPS OF LECYTHIDACEAE - A CLADISTIC-ANALYSIS USING RBCL SEQUENCE AND MORPHOLOGICAL DATA

This study examined in detail the rbcL sequence and morphological supp ort for subfamilial relationships and monophyly of Lecythidaceae. Init ially we needed to establish relationships of Lecythidaceae among othe r dicot families. To complete this we examined 47 rbcL sequences of 25 families along with molecular observations from several large analyse s of rbcL data. All analyses strongly support the monophyly of the ast erid III grouping. This analysis revealed Lecythidaceae to be paraphyl etic and indicated potential outgroup relationships with Sapotaceae. O nce relationships had been evaluated using molecular data we then conc entrated on analyzing separate and combined morphological and molecula r databases. The topology of the morphological data set was similar to the rbcL sequence and combined data sets except for the positioning o f Napoleonaeoideae, Grias, Gustavia, and Oubanguia. According to the c ombined results, Planchonioideae, Lecythidoideae, and Foetidioideae ar e monophyletic, whereas the subfamily Napoleonaeoideae are paraphyleti c. Nested within Napoleonaeoideae, we found Asteranthos forms a strong ly supported clade with Oubanguia (Scytopetalaceae). Foetidia, the onl y genus of Foetidioideae, is sister to Planchonioideae, and this clade is sister to Lecythidoideae. The [(Planchonioideae, Foetidioideae) Le cythidoideae] are sister to Asteranthos/Oubanguia. Napoleonaeoideae ar e sister to the rest of Lecythidaceae.