MOLVRAY, MIA*, PAUL KORES, STEVE HOPPER, AND ANDEW BROWN. Oklahoma Biological Survey and Department of Botany & Microbiology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019; Kings Park Botanical Garden, Perth, WA, Australia; and Division of Conservation and Land Management, Perth, WA, Australia. - A phylogenetic analysis of the subtribe Caladeniinae (Orchidaceae): Based on ITS sequences.
The largest subtribe of Diurideae is Caladeniinae,which has a
predominantly Australian distribution. As circumscribed by Dressler,
the subtribe included ten genera, a number that has grown to fourteen
in recent treatments. The status of the four segregate genera,
Praecoxanthos, Drakonorchis, Elythranthera, and
Cyanicula, has been questioned by some authors. The current
study assessed the monophyly of Caladeniinae, the segregate genera,
and the genus Caladenia itself. Three genera that have been
included in the subtribe, Leporella, Lyperanthus and
Rimacola, should be excluded from Caladeniinae based on
sequence data. Our study supports the removal of
Praecoxanthos from Caladenia, as suggested by Hopper and
Brown on the basis of morphological characters. Praecoxanthos
is sister to a clade composed of Glossodia,
Elythranthera, Cyanicula, Caladenia, and
Drakonorchis. Elythranthera is well-supported and
appears sister to Glossodia. Cyanicula is likewise very
well-supported and is sister to Caladenia s.str..
Drakonorchis, on the other hand, is embedded within the more
derived species of Caladenia. Like some members of
Drakaeinae, Drakonorchis has a thynnid wasp pseudocopulation
pollination syndrome, showing that this complex suite of adaptations
has evolved more than once within Diurideae.
Key words: Australia, Caladeniinae, Diurideae, ITS, Orchidaceae