Major clades within Apiaceae subfamilies Saniculoideae and basal Apioideae: Implications for evolution of the woody habit

CALVIÑO, C. I., DOWNIE, S. R., TILNEY, P. M., AND VAN WYK, B.E.

Viena, Austria

Congreso; XVII International Botanical Congress; 2005

The family Apiaceae, as traditionally circumscribed, comprises three subfamilies, with the largest, Apioideae, being the focus of much systematic attention. In this study, we expand results of a previous phylogenetic analysis of chloroplast rps16 intron sequences by incorporating additional representation of “core Apiaceae” (Apioideae, Saniculoideae, and the Azorella clade) withseveral woody or herbaceous African umbels, many of which have been postulated to be links between subfamilies Apioideae and Saniculoideae, or to be important lineages in the early evolution of core Apiaceae. Among basal Apioideae, two additional major lineages are inferred (Annesorhiza clade; Lichtensteinia); tribe Heteromorpheae is expanded. Saniculoideae is maintained as sister to Steganotaenia plus Polemanniopsis. Core Apiaceae is also expanded to include a fourth major clade (Hermas, treated previously as a hydrocotyloid genus). A southern African origin of subfamilies Apioideae and Saniculoideae is postulated, and the placement of herbaceous members at the base of Apioideae suggests, surprisingly, that its ancestor was herbaceous, not woody.