Martin Claire, Little D. P., Goldenberg R., Michelangeli F. (2008). A phylogenetic evaluation of Leandra (Miconieae, Melastomataceae) : a polyphyletic genus where the seeds tell the story, not the petals. Cladistics, 24 (3), p. 315-327. ISSN 0748-3007.
Titre du document
A phylogenetic evaluation of Leandra (Miconieae, Melastomataceae) : a polyphyletic genus where the seeds tell the story, not the petals
Martin Claire, Little D. P., Goldenberg R., Michelangeli F.
Source
Cladistics, 2008,
24 (3), p. 315-327 ISSN 0748-3007
Melastomataceae is a tropical family of 4500-5000 species divided into nine tribes. The largest tribe, Miconieae, is composed of approximately 2200 species in 30 genera and is found exclusively in the Neotropics. Previous phylogenetic analyses of the Miconieae have suggested that many of the genera are derived from a paraphyletic Miconia. However, these analyses only included six species of the large genus Leandra, so its phylogenetic affinities remained unclear. As currently defined Leandra is characterized by acute petals and terminal inflorescences, but some species of Miconia, Clidemia and Ossaea also have these characters. In this study, we present an analysis of nrITS sequence data for a sample of 63 species of Leandra. The genus is clearly resolved as polyphyletic, but some distinct and well-supported clades exist. Some of these partially correspond to sections recognized in the nineteenth century by Cogniaux, or to geographic distribution. The distribution of seed structure characters is better correlated with the phylogeny than traditional characters, such as petal morphology. Seed appendages in Leandra have evolved independently at least four times.
