A phylogenetic analysis of the Orchidaceae: evidence from rbcL nucleotide sequences

Abstract

Cladistic parsimony analyses of rbcL nucleotide sequence data from 171 taxa representing nearly all tribes and subtribes of Orchidaceae are presented here. These analyses divide the family into five primary monophyletic clades: apostasioid, cypripedioid, vanilloid, orchidoid, and epidendroid orchids, arranged in that order. These clades, with the exception of the vanilloids, essentially correspond to currently recognized subfamilies. A distinct subfamily, based upon tribe Vanilleae, is supported for Vanilla and its allies. The general tree topology is, for the most part, congruent with previously published hypotheses of intrafamilial relationships; however, there is no evidence supporting the previously recognized subfamilies Spiranthoideae, Neottioideae, or Vandoideae. Subfamily Spiranthoideae is embedded within a single clade containing members of Orchidoideae and sister to tribe Diurideae. Genera representing tribe Tropideae are placed within the epidendroid clade. Most traditional subtribal units are supported within each clade, but few tribes, as currently circumscribed, are monophyletic. Although powerful in assessing monophyly of clades within the family, in this case rbcL fails to provide strong support for the interrelationships of the subfamilies (i.e., along the spine of the tree). The cladograms presented here should serve as a standard to which future morphological and molecular studies can be compared.

Introduction and synthesis: plant phylogeny and the origin of major biomes

“…Similarly, Mark Chase (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) pointed out during a discussion at the meeting that molecular phylogenetic trees of Orchidaceae (e.g. Cameron et al 1999;Whitten et al 2000; Van den Berg et al 2004) show clear continental geographical structure, but whether this is consistent with continental vicariance also needs testing by dating these phylogenetic trees.…”

Sinopse das Orchidaceae terrestres ocorrentes no litoral norte do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

“…Posição sistemática das Orchidaceae terrestres encontradas no litoral norte do Rio Grande do Sul. Vanilloideae e Orchidoideae segundo sistema de Pridgeon et al (2001;; Epidendroideae segundo Dressler (1993), com modificações sugeridas por Cameron et al (1999) Espécie citada para o litoral e planalto do Paraná (Schlechter 1920;Pabst & Dungs 1975 Espécie bastante comum nas dunas e campos arenosos do litoral norte, sendo também encontrada em butiazais, onde às vezes ocorre como epífita, e na borda de florestas da restinga arenosa. Espécie aparentemente ruderal, comum em barrancos de beira de estrada.…”

“…Na sinonímia foram incluídos apenas os nomes citados para o Rio Grande do Sul. A circunscrição aceita neste trabalho para os gêneros e categorias superiores segue Pridgeon et al (2001; e Dressler (1993), modificado a partir de Cameron et al (1999). Foram elaboradas chaves para a identificação dos gêneros e espécies, quando pertinente.…”

“…Representantes tipicamente terrestres são encontrados nas cinco subfamílias atualmente reconhecidas (Dressler, 1993;Cameron et al 1999), apresentando um padrão de distribuição diferente do encontrado em táxons epifíticos. Enquanto as espécies epifíticas são restritas aos trópicos e subtrópicos, as espécies terrestres apresentam distribuição muito mais ampla, ocorrendo em formações florestais, campestres e palustres, em regiões estacionais e temperadas (Dressler 1981).…”

Doing the twist: a test of Darwin's cross-pollination hypothesis for pollinarium reconfiguration

“…The latter were based on a phylogeny of the 19 study species (table 1) obtained from existing phylogenetic trees (Cameron et al 1999;Bateman et al 2003) trimmed to include just the 19 species of interest. Branch lengths were assigned according to Pagel's arbitrary method (Pagel 1992).…”