Abstract
a whole, strongly supported the mostly African tribe Amaryllideae as sister to the rest of the family, and resolved geographically-based monophyletic groups, but failed to resolve the relationships among several basal lineages in the family (the African Haemantheae and Cyrtantheae, the Australasian Calostemmateae, and the American and Eurasian sister clades). We present analysis of plastid ndhF sequences that fully resolved the major clades of the family. The baccate-fruited Haemantheae and Calostemmateae are sister tribes, and the African endemic Cyrtantheae is sister to them both. This clade is sister to an American/Eurasian clade. We also present preliminary nuclear ribosomal ITS sequence analysis of the Eurasian clade. Lycorideae are basal in the group and begin a grade that continues with Hannonia, then Pancratium, then Lapiedra. The genera Galanthus, Narcissus, and Sternhergia are resolved as monophyletic with strong support. Leucojum is paraphyletic and recognition of Acis for the mostly autumn-flowering Mediterranean species is supported. Recent phylogenetic analyses of various tribes and genera of the family are reviewed. Above the family level, Agapanthaceae, Alliaceae, and Amaryllidaceae form a well-supported monophyletic group, but exact resolution of the relationships among the three subclades varies depending on the sequence matrix utilized. The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II has advocated combining all three into a single family, Alliaceae. We discuss this decision, which has historical precedent, but recommend that Amaryllidaceae be conserved as the name for the family in such a treatment.
Highlights
Amaryllidaceae are one of the few families of the higher Asparagales well defined by other than molecular characters, namely the combination of umbellate cymes, inferior ovaries, and unique alkaloid chemistry (Meerow and Snijman 1998), but morphological characters alone fail to adequately resolve phylogenetic relationships within the family (Meerow et al 2000a)
In this paper we review the progress made on amaryllid phylogeny since Monocots II and present the first results of phylogenetic analyses across the entire family using plastid ndhF sequences, as well as preliminary analyses of the Eurasian clade of the family using ITS
Cyrtantheae are resolved as sister to a subclade of Haemantheae and Calostemmateae
Summary
Amaryllidaceae are one of the few families of the higher Asparagales well defined by other than molecular characters, namely the combination of umbellate cymes, inferior ovaries, and unique alkaloid chemistry (Meerow and Snijman 1998), but morphological characters alone fail to adequately resolve phylogenetic relationships within the family (Meerow et al 2000a). Some of these characters, such as inflorescence type, are likely synapomorphies for a deeper grouping of families (Agapanthaceae, Alliaceae) that could be subsumed in Amaryllidaceae (though this name would need to be conserved over Alliaceae). Discussion of character evolution within the family can be found in Meerow (1995), Meerow and Snijman (1998), and Meerow et al (1999)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
