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(American Journal of Botany. 2008;95:1015-1029.) doi: 10.3732/ajb.0800085 © 2008 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

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Evolutionary relationships in the showy mistletoe family (Loranthaceae)¹

² Department of Plant Biology, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, Illinois 62901-6509 USA

ABSTRACT

Loranthaceae (73 genera and ca. 900 species) comprise mostly aerial hemiparasitic plants. Three monotypic genera considered relicts are root parasites. The family is diverse in tropical areas, but representatives are also found in temperate habitats. Previous classifications were based on floral and inflorescence morphology, karyological information, and biogeography. The family has been divided into three tribes: Nuytsiae, Elytrantheae (subtribes Elytranthinae and Gaiadendrinae), and Lorantheae (subtribes Loranthinae and Psittacanthinae). Nuytsiae and Elytrantheae are characterized by a base chromosome number of x = 12, whereas subtribes Loranthinae (x = 9) and Psittacanthinae (x = 8) numbers are derived via aneuploid reduction. To elucidate the phylogeny of the family, we analyzed sequences from five genes (nuclear small and large subunit rDNA and the chloroplast genes rbcL, matK, and trnL-F) representing most genera using parsimony, likelihood, and Bayesian inference. The three root parasites, Nuytsia, Atkinsonia, and Gaiadendron, are supported as successive sister taxa to the remaining genera, resulting in a monophyletic group of aerial parasites. Three major clades are resolved each corresponding to a subtribe. However, two South American genera (Tristerix and Notanthera) and the New Zealand genus Tupeia, which were previously classified in subtribe Elytranthinae, are weakly supported as part of a clade representing the South American subtribe Psittacanthinae.

Key Words: matK • parasitic plants • phylogeny • rbcL • ribosomal DNA • Santalales • trnL-F intergenic spacer

Received for publication 4 March 2008. Accepted for publication 23 May 2008.

FOOTNOTES

¹ The authors thank the numerous collectors listed in Table 1 who helped obtain specimens for this project. Thanks to MO for access to specimens, G. Amico for his useful comments, and S. Sipes for generously allowing use of her automated DNA sequencer. The authors appreciate the useful comments provided by two anonymous reviewers that improved this manuscript. Financial support was provided by a fellowship from the Fulbright Commission Argentina (R.V.-R.), the SIUC Graduate School and grants from the National Science Foundation (D.L.N.).

³ Author for correspondence (e-mail: vidalr{at}crub.uncoma.edu.ar); present address: Laboratorio Ecotono, CRUB, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Quintral 1250 (8400) Bariloche, Rio Negro Argentina

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