Abstract Detail

Systematics Section/ASPT

Paudyal, Sushil [1], Delprete, Piero [2], Motley, Timothy [3].

Phylogenetic placement of Ceuthocarpus involucratus (Chiococceae, Rubiaceae): Evidence from molecular data.

Ceuthocarpus involucratus (Wernham) Aiello is the only member of the genus Ceuthocarpus and an endemic to Cuba. It is a shrub of up to 4 m tall with very short internodes, and occurring in the serpentine soils of eastern Cuba. It has terminal solitary flowers and capsular fruits that are surrounded at the base by an involucre of numerous foliaceous bracts. This species has undergone changes in generic affiliation a few times since its description, and was last circumscribed as a monotypic genus by Aiello in 1979. Although some morphological studies in the past have placed Ceuthocarpus sister to the genera currently delimited within the tribe Chiococceae, recent phylogenies using molecular data failed to include the genus in their sampling. Therefore, phylogenetic placement of Ceuthocarpus within the tribe is still uncertain. We analyzed molecular data from four DNA regions (both chloroplast and nuclear) using Bayesian and Maximum Parsimony frameworks to examine the phylogenetic position of Ceuthocarpus within the tribe Chiococceae. Results from the present analyses provide strong evidence towards establishing taxonomic position of Ceuthocarpus.

Broader Impacts:

1 - Old Dominion University, Biological Sciences, 110 Mills Godwin Building, W 45th Street, Norfolk, VA, 23529, USA
2 - Herbier de Guyane, Boite Postale 165, 97323 , Cayenne Cedex, French Guiana, France
3 - Old Dominion University, Department of Biological Sciences, 110 Mills Godwin Building, 45th Street W, Norfolk, VA, 23529, United States

Keywords:
Ceuthocarpus
Chiococceae
Cuba
phylogeny
Rubiaceae
Taxonomy.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Grand Salon A - D/Riverside Hilton
Date: Monday, July 29th, 2013
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PSY046
Abstract ID:907
Candidate for Awards:None