Leaf flavonoid patterns in the genus Tricyrtis (Tricyrtidaceae sensu stricto, Liliaceae sensu lato)

In a leaf flavonoid aglycone survey of 19 Tricyrtis species, the flavone lu teolin was detected in 16% of the taxa and the flavonols myricetin, quercet in, kaempferol and isorhamnetin in 32%, 63% and 68% and 58% of the sample, respectively. Kaempferol occurred more frequently than quercetin in section s Hirtae and Tricyrtis. Section Brachycyrtis was characterized by the prese nce of luteolin, while flavones were absent from sections Flavae, Hirtae an d Tricyrtis. Myricetin was found only in T. formosana and T. hirta (section Hirtae) and in T. affinis and T. macropoda (section Tricyrtis). This is th e first report of myricetin in Tricyrtis and in the Liliales. Also the co-o ccurrence of flavones and flavonols within the same plant, as in T. ishiian a var, surugensis and T. macrantha, is a rare event in this order. The flav onoid data are congruent with data from morphology, anatomy and molecular a nalysis in indicating the separation of section Brachycyrtis from the other three sections and in supporting a close relationship between sections Hir tae and Tricyrtis. (C) 1999 The Linnean Society of London.