Phylogenetic Relationships Among Members of Saxifragaceae Sensu Lato Based on rbcL Sequence Data

Abstract

In an attempt to elucidate relationships among the morphologically diverse members of Saxifragaceae sensu lato, phylogenetic analyses of rbcL sequence data were conducted on representative genera of 16 of the 17 subfamilies. Also included were many putatively related families, as well as a diverse array of dicotyledonous flowering plants. Our phylogenetic analyses suggest that taxa of Saxifragaceae sensu lato are allied with at least 10 separate, often distantly related, lineages of several subclasses of flowering plants. Sequence data, in combination with other lines of evidence, suggest that Saxifragaceae sensu stricto should consist only of subfamily Saxifragoideae, a group of about 30 herbaceous genera that form the core of Saxifragaceae sensu lato