Phylogenetic Studies in the Gentianales – Approaches at Different Taxonomic Levels

Abstract: This thesis deals with phylogenetic relationships at different taxonomic levels. All the plants studied are or have been included in the order Gentianales, which comprises about 17 200 species. The phylogenies are based on parsimony analyses of nucleotide sequence data (DNA) from different regions in the chloroplast genome, but morphological characteristics have also been studied.Analyses of sequence data from the genes rbcL and ndhF provide the interfamilial structure of the order Gentianales, shown to comprise the families Apocynaceae (incl. Asclepiadaceae), Gelsemiaceae, Gentianaceae, Loganiaceae, and Rubiaceae. Exclusion of certain genera from the Loganiaceae is confirmed and their phylogenetic positions are clarified. Some of these genera remain within the Gentianales, while others belong to other orders. Exclusion of the tribe Buddlejeae from the Loganiaceae is confirmed, and a monophyletic group formed by Buddleja, Emorya, Gomphostigma, and Nicodemia is recognized and placed in the Lamiales. The Loganiaceae s.str. forms, after these exclusions, a strongly supported monophyletic group comprising 13 genera.The tribe Paederieae in the family Rubiaceae is analysed using sequence data from the regions rbcL gene, rps16 intron, and the regions trnT-F, and is shown to be paraphyletic. These results lead to a new circumscription of Paederieae comprising the genera Leptodermis, Paederia, Serissa, and Spermadictyon. The tribe Putorieae is reestablished with the single genus Plocama, including 34 species. Aitchisonia, Choulettia, Crocyllis, Gaillonia, Jaubertia, Pseudogaillonia, Pterogaillonia, and Putoria are reduced to synonyms of Plocama based on the molecular analyses and morphological studies.The Mediterranean species of the re-circumscribed Plocama, previously segregated as the genus Putoria, are revised. Two species, Plocama calabrica and P. brevifolia, are recognized, their synonymics are established, and seven lectotypes are selected.