Life Sciences Commons^™

Phylogenetics Of The Borage Family: Delimiting Boraginales And Assessing Closest Relatives, Kristen E. Hasenstab-Lehman

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The placement of Boraginales, and relationships within the family have remained elusive in modern, broad phylogenetic studies. In order to assess the phylogeny of Boraginales, and specifically to test the sister lineage of the order, a data matrix of the chloroplast markers rbcL, ndhF, and trnL-trnF was assembled from GenBank and de novo sequences (representing 132 new GenBank accessions). Phylogenies inferred using Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian frameworks resulted in identical topologies. Tests for alternative topologies were used to assess whether any of the candidates for sister (Solanales, Gentianales, Lamiales, or Vahlia) to Boraginales could …

Species Status Of Sclerocactus Brevispinus, S. Wetlandicus, And S. Glaucus: Inferences From Morphology, Chloroplast Dna Sequences, And Aflp Markers, J. Mark Porter, Jennifer Cruse-Sanders, Linda Prince, Robert Lauri

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

We examine patterns of variation in 12 continuous morphological traits, chloroplast DNA sequences from 10 intergenic spacer regions (petA-psbJ, psbk-trnS, psbM-trnD, rpob-trnC, trnC-trnD, trnGCU-trnG2S, trnFM-trnUGA, atpF-atpH, trnT-trnD, trnQ-psbk), atpF, and rpl16, and Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) genetic markers in Sclerocactus glaucus sensu lato (= S. brevispinus, S. glaucus, and S. wetlandicus), a complex that historically has been considered conspecific and afforded protection …

Systematics Of The Tribe Stipeae (Gramineae) Using Molecular Data, Surrey Jacobs, Randall Bayer, Joy Everett, Mirta Arriaga, Mary Barkworth, Alexandru Sabin-Badereau, Amelia Torres, Francisco Vázquez, Neil Bagnall

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences have been determined for a wide range of stipoid grasses (Poaceae, Pooideae, Stipeae). Nardus was confirmed as the most appropriate outgroup. Anisopogon is consistently included among the stipoid genera. Lithachne and Oryza form a clade and are clearly not close to Stipeae, and there is no support for including Brachyelytrum within Stipeae. Ampelodesmos and Diarrhena do appear among the core taxa in some analyses, but their positions are unstable and the evidence for retaining them is limited. So far there is inadequate support for rejecting them from Stipeae, so they should be included in any …

A Preliminary Phylogenetic Analysis Of The Grass Subfamily Pooideae (Poaceae), With Attention To Structural Features Of The Plastid And Nuclear Genomes, Including An Intron Loss In Gbssi, Jerrold I Davis, Robert J. Soreng

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Phylogenetic relationships in the grass family (Poaceae), with specific attention to the internal structure of subfamily Pooideae, are analyzed on the basis of nucleotide sequence variation in plastid-encoded genes (matK, ndhF, ndhH, and rbcL). The resulting phylogenetic hypothesis was examined with attention to the taxonomic distributions of two inversions and an insertion/deletion within ndhF, the absence of intron 10 of the nuclear gene GBSSI (waxy), and positions of the boundaries between the Short Single Copy (SSC) region and the neighboring Inverted Repeat (IR) regions of the plastid genome, relative to the endpoints of ndh …

A Systematic Approach To Subtribe Loliinae (Poaceae: Pooideae) Based On Phylogenetic Evidence, Pilar Catalán, Pedro Torrecilla, José A. López-Rodríguez, Jochen Müller, Clive A. Stace

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Loliinae (Poaceae, Pooideae) encompass a large group of genera closely related to Festuca, the largest genus in the subtribe, which as traditionally circumscribed has been shown to be highly paraphyletic. In this investigation we combined molecular and morphological data representing 20 genera of Loliinae and closely related subtribes. Combined analysis of nucleotide sequences from the nuclear ITS and chloroplast trnL–F regions and structural characters recovered a consensus topology that shows Loliinae to be monophyletic and possessing two main clades—the fine-leaved Festuca clade that includes Ctenopsis, Micropyrum, Narduroides, Psilurus, Vulpia, and Wangenheimia, and …

A Brief Nomenclatural Review Of Genera And Tribes In Theaceae, Linda M. Prince

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The angiosperm family Theaceae has been investigated extensively with a rich publication record of anatomical, cytological, paleontological, and palynological data analyses and interpretation. Recent developmental and molecular data sets and the application of cladistic analytical methods support dramatic changes in circumscription at the familial, tribal, and generic levels. Growing interest in the family outside the taxonomic and systematic fields warrants a brief review of the recent nomenclatural history (mainly 20th century), some of the classification systems currently in use, and an explanation of which data support various classification schemes. An abridged bibliography with critical nomenclatural references is provided.

A Comparison And Combination Of Plastid Atpb And Rbcl Gene Sequences For Inferring Phylogenetic Relationships Within Orchidaceae, Kenneth M. Cameron

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Parsimony analyses of DNA sequences from the plastid genes atpB and rbcL were completed for 173 species of Orchidaceae (representing 150 different genera) and nine genera from outgroup families in Asparagales. The atpB tree topology is similar to the rbcL tree, although the atpB data contain less homoplasy and provide greater jackknife support than rbcL alone. In combination, the two-gene tree recovers five monophyletic clades corresponding to subfamilies within Orchidaceae, and fully resolves them with moderate to high jackknife support as follows: Epidendroideae are sister to Orchidoideae, followed by Cypripedioideae, then Vanilloideae, and with …

A Nuclear Rdna Phylogeny Of Smilax (Smilacaceae), Kenneth M. Cameron, Chengxin Fu

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Smilacaceae are a taxonomically confused, cosmopolitan family of Liliales characterized by climbing habit, reticulate leaf venation, paired petiolar tendrils, unisexual flowers, and superior ovaries. Deviations from this generalized morphology have led to the division of Smilacaceae into at least seven different genera and five sections within the large genus Smilax. In particular, taxa with connate tepals (Heterosmilax), more than six stamens (Pleiosmilax, Oligosmilax), or herbaceous habit (Hemexia) have been variously classified. Using DNA sequences of 96 taxa from the nuclear rDNA ITS gene region, parsimony analyses provide moderate resolution, but generally poor bootstrap support …

Phlogeny And Biogeography Of The Prayer Plant Family, Linda M. Prince, W. John Kress

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Marantaceae are the second largest family in the order Zingiberales, with approximately 31 genera and 535 species. Earlier studies based on morphological and molecular characters could not confidently determine the relationships among major lineages of the family, nor could they identify the basal branch of the family tree. Phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data from all three genomic compartments (chloroplast: matK, ndhF, rbcL, rps16 intron, and trnL-trnF intergenic spacer; mitochondrion: cox1; nucleus: ITS region and the 5'-end of 26S) for a restricted set of taxa were conducted under parsimony criteria to define …

Systematics And Relationships Of Fallugia (Rosoideae—Rosaceae), James Henrickson

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The paper presents a systematic monograph of Fallugia (Rosoideae, Rosaceae) consisting of one variable species, Fallugia paradoxa. Morphological, cytological and molecular data clearly support its relationship with Geums.l. rather than Purshia-Cowani, with which it is often allied. The species was named twice independently in 1825 from the specimens and drawings, respectively, assembled by Sessé and Mociño for their proposed Flora Mexicana. The paper discusses the nomenclatural history, morphological variation, and the polygarno-dioecious mode of reproduction of the species. No infraspecific taxa are recognized.

A Phylogenetic Classification Of Polemoniaceae, J. Mark Porter, Leigh A. Johnson

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Three hundred seventy nine species of Polemoniaceae are arranged in a phylogenetic classification composed of three subfamilies, eight tribes, and 26 genera. Nomenclature of one tribe is clarified and the circumscription of several tribes differs greatly from previous classifications. Five new genera, Bryantiella, Dayia, Lathrocasis, Microgilia, and Saltugilia, are proposed. In addition, four new species are described from the genera Allophyllum, Dayia, Giliastrum, and lpomopsis. This treatment represents a major reclassification with 59 new combinations, and the application of several additional combinations not used in recent years.

Phylogenetic Relationships Of Polemoniaceae: Inferences From Mitochondrial Nad1b Intron Sequences, J. Mark Porter, Leigh A. Johnson

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The most recent assessments of phylogenetic relationships and diversification in the flowering plant family Polemoniaceae have relied on nuclear ribosomal and chloroplast DNA sequences. We employed the mitochondrial nad1b intron, located within the second transcription unit of the first subunit of NADH dehydrogenase, for phylogenetic inference. Maximum parsimony analysis of these data provided evidence that Polemoniaceae are more closely related to families Fouquieriaceae, Diapensiaceae, Styracaceae, and Primulaceae than to families of the Solananae, where it has been classified. Fouquieriaceae are inferred to be the sister group of Polemoniaceae; however, when indels are treated as additional characters and given twice the …

Diversity And Evolution Of Seedling Baupläne In Perlargonium (Geraniaceae), Cynthia S. Jones, Robert A. Price

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The genus Pelargonium (Geraniaceae) exhibits tremendous variation in growth form. We apply a broadly defined concept of Bauplan in our study of growth form, architectural and anatomical features of early seedling development in the type subgenus. We analyze variation in these features within a phylogenetic framework based on sequence comparisons of internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA.

Preliminary ITS sequence comparisons show strong support for two major clades. One major clade contains two subgroups, one consisting of three previously recognized sections of more or less woody shrubs and subshrubs (sections Pelargonium, Glaucophyllum and Campylia), and …

New Fungi From Dasylirion (Agavaceae), Annette W. Ramaley

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Dead leaves of Dasylirion were collected in Texas in Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Big Bend National Park, and in the Valley of Fires, New Mexico. The fungi present were identified and grown in culture to identify teleomorph-anamorph connections. Four new ascomycete species are described—Graphyllium dasylirionis, Splanchnonema dasylirionis, Chaetoplea dasylirionis, and Chaetoplea sotolifoliorum. In addition, a new genus, Parahendersonia, is described to accommodate the coelomycete anamorph of Chaetoplea dasylirionis.

A Review Of The Classification Of The Genus Hydrastis (Ranunculaceae), Carl S. Keener

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The genus Hydrastis has been variously classified as a monotypic taxon in the Ranunculaceae, the Berberidaceae, the Glaucidiaceae, or its own monogeneric family, the Hydrastidaceae. The objectives of this paper were 1) to review the previous classifications of Hydrastis and 2) to critique a recent paper by Tobe and Keating reevaluating the classification of the genus based on comparative morphological and anatomical studies. One conclusion of this review was that Tobe and Keating overlooked certain important papers which might have substantially altered their conclusions, viz., that Hydrastis is sufficiently distinct from the other genera of the Ranunculaceae to warrant a …

Steps Toward A Natural System Of The Dicotyledons, Gertrud Dahlgren

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Embryological character states are mapped on the diagrams of dicotyledons (G. Dahlgren 1989). The often well-defined pattern of distribution forms a basis for discussing and clarifying phylogenetic relations. It is shown how numerous embryological characters, alone or in combinations, support certain systematic constellations, even if the character states may have arisen independently within a varying number of evolutionary lines. Characters presented are: anther wall formation; tapetum types; cells in pollen grains at dispersal; microsporogenesis; ovule morphology; ovule integuments; endothelium; obturator; parietal tissue; embryo sac formation; antipodal cells; hypostase, embryogeny; polyembryony; endosperm formation; persistence of endosperm; ruminate endosperm; endosperm haustoria; perisperm; …

A Synopsis Of Flacourtiaceae, David E. Lemke

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Flacourtiaceae are a large, mostly tropical, family containing more than 800 species. As circumscribed by Warburg and Gilg the family is rather heterogeneous and indeterminate. The most recent generic treatment, that of Hutchinson, represents a considerable improvement in our understanding of the family, yet Hutchinson's Flacourtiaceae still contain a number of disparate elements. This preliminary generic treatment, based upon studies of gross morphology, wood anatomy, palynology, and phytochemistry, attempts to provide a revised framework for future studies of this diverse family. Ten tribes (Berberidopsideae, Erythrospermeae, Oncobeae, Pangieae , Homalieae, Scolopieae , Prockieae, Flacourtieae, Casearieae, Bembicieae) comprising 79 genera are recognized. …