Subtribe Rudbeckiinae is a small North American monophyletic lineage of Heliantheae composed of approximately 35 species distributed among the genera Dracopis, Ratibida, and Rudbeckia. Four molecular data sets will be used individually and in combination with one another for the purpose of phylogenetic reconstruction. Chloroplast restriction site investigations provide strong support for certain species groups in Rudbeckiinae, but relationships among these clades are largely unresolved. ITS sequence data provide a highly resolved phylogeny that, in general, support traditional concepts for the group. The Ratibida clade has strong support, and in most analyses it is sister to Rudbeckia. Rudbeckia, is resolved as two sublineages corresponding to traditional circumscriptions of subg. Macrocline and subg. Rudbeckia. Dracopis, traditionally recognized as a distinct genus, is sister to Rudbeckia subg. Macrocline. Species relationships suggested by the two data sets are highly congruent, but some exceptions are evident. Examining additional sequence data from other nuclear and chloroplast markers seek explanations for such discrepancies. Preliminary analysis of external transcribed spacer (ETS) sequence data results in a phylogeny similar to that generated from ITS sequences. Additional chloroplast data are being sought from the 5’ and 3’ regions of the trnK intron. Efficacy of combining the data sets to generate a phylogeny based on total evidence is being examined.

Key words: Asteraceae, Dracopis, phylogeny, Ratibida, Rudbeckia, Rudbeckiinae