Relationships Within the Spiny-Fruited Umbellifers (Scandiceae subtribes Daucinae and Torilidinae) as Assessed by Phylogenetic Analysis of Morphological Characters

Abstract

Abstract Previous molecular systematic studies have indicated that the spiny-fruited umbellifers (Apiaceae tribe Caucalideae sensu Heywood) comprise two major lineages, recently delimited as Scandiceae subtribes Daucinae and Torilidinae, with the former including representation of tribe Laserpitieae sensu Drude. These taxa are allied with the monophyletic Scandiceae subtribe Scandicinae whose members lack spiny fruits. The relationship among these three subtribes is equivocal when nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer sequences are compared. Evidence from plastid DNA, however, suggests that Daucinae and Torilidinae are sister taxa. Herein, we provide results of a phylogenetic study of these spiny-fruited umbellifers based on morphology in order to study the evolution of these characters and to ascertain their utility for resolving relationships by comparison to the results of previous molecular analyses. Maximum parsimony analysis of 56 morphological characters resulted in a paraphyletic Toril...