SIMMONS, SARAH L.* AND JOSE L. PANERO. School of Biological Sciences, Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712. - Phylogeny and biogeography of Staphyleaceae (DC.) Lindl.
The family Staphyleaceae is a small dicotyledonous family of trees and
shrubs consisting of three genera, Staphylea, Euscaphis,
and Turpinia, totaling approximately 50-60 species and
distributed across both the old and new world. No revision exists for
the family or any of its component genera. The distribution of
Staphyleaceae and the fact that the three genera are primarily
delimited on the basis of fruit type has led to some interesting
questions about the monophyly of the genera. We initiated a study to
address this problem using sequence data from one nuclear (ITS 1 and
2) and three chloroplast (the psbA-trnH,
matK-trnK and trnT-trnL) regions. All
recognized species of Staphyleaceae were sampled, as well as related
genera. Results from comparative studies based on sequence data
revealed relationships quite different from those supported by
morphology. Results from this analysis suggest that traditional
generic groupings are polyphyletic and a re-evaluation of the
delimitation of the genera is necessary. Data gathered to date and
the biogeographic history of Staphyleaceae as constructed from
molecular sequence, morphological and fossil data will be discussed.
Key words: biogeography, Euscaphis, ITS, Staphylea, Staphyleaceae, Turpinia