Alseodaphnopsis: A new genus of Lauraceae based on molecular and morphological evidence

Abstract

An investigation of a questionable species of the genus Alseodaphne led to the discovery of a new genus Alseodaphnopsis H. W. Li & J. Li, gen. nov., separated from Alseodaphne Nees, and a new species Alseodaphnopsis ximengensis H. W. Li & J. Li, sp. nov., endemic to Yunnan province, China. This new species is characterized by having big, axillary, paniculate inflorescences, as well as large, subglobose fruits. Based on DNA sequence data from two gene regions (nuclear ribosomal ITS and LEAFY intron II), we investigate its phylogenetic position within the Persea group. Phylogenies using maximum parsimony (MP) and Bayesian inference (BI) support the recognition of Alseodaphnopsis as a distinct genus but do not resolve well its relationship within the Persea group. The new genus is circumscribed, eight new combinations for its species are made, and a description and illustration of the new species are provided.

Two new species of Alseodaphnopsis (Lauraceae) from southwestern China and northern Myanmar: evidence from morphological and molecular analyses

“…Two nuclear DNA fragments, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the second intron of LEAFY gene (LEAFY intron II), were amplified and sequenced following the work of Li et al (2011). ITS and LEAFY intron II sequences of other possibly related species involved here were obtained from GenBank according to the works of Li et al (2011) and Mo et al (2017a). Species examined in this study, voucher information, collection locality and GenBank accession numbers for ITS and LEAFY sequences are given in Table 1. DNA sequences were aligned using Clustal X 2.1 (Larkin et al 2007) and adjusted manually.…”

“…Species examined in this study, voucher information, collection locality and GenBank accession numbers for ITS and LEAFY sequences are given in Table 1. DNA sequences were aligned using Clustal X 2.1 (Larkin et al 2007) and adjusted manually. The combined dataset including ITS and LEAFY intron II sequences for phylogenetic analysis was built according to the works of Li et al (2011) and Mo et al (2017a).…”

“…Alseodaphnopsis H. W. Li & J. Li, including nine species at present, is a recently described new genus of the Lauraceae (Mo et al 2017a). Mo et al (2017a) separated Alseodaphnopsis from the traditionally recognized tropical Asian genus Alseodaphne Nees based on both morphological and molecular evidence.…”

“…Alseodaphnopsis H. W. Li & J. Li, including nine species at present, is a recently described new genus of the Lauraceae (Mo et al 2017a). Mo et al (2017a) separated Alseodaphnopsis from the traditionally recognized tropical Asian genus Alseodaphne Nees based on both morphological and molecular evidence. The combination of principal morphologi-cal characters to distinguish the two genera (Alseodaphnopsis vs. Alseodaphne) includes: 1) twigs thick, 4-11 mm in diameter, not obviously whitish in color vs. thin, 2.5-4.5 mm in diameter, obviously whitish in color; 2) terminal buds perulate vs. not perulate; 3) perianth lobes persistent at least in young fruit vs. early deciduous; 4) inflorescences relatively large, 8.5-35 cm long, generally many-flowered, with 3-4 order of branching vs. 3-20 cm long, few-flowered, with 1-2 orders of branching; and 5) mature fruit relatively large, 3-5 cm vs. < 2.5cm in diameter (Mo et al 2017a).…”

“…Mo et al (2017a) separated Alseodaphnopsis from the traditionally recognized tropical Asian genus Alseodaphne Nees based on both morphological and molecular evidence. The combination of principal morphologi-cal characters to distinguish the two genera (Alseodaphnopsis vs. Alseodaphne) includes: 1) twigs thick, 4-11 mm in diameter, not obviously whitish in color vs. thin, 2.5-4.5 mm in diameter, obviously whitish in color; 2) terminal buds perulate vs. not perulate; 3) perianth lobes persistent at least in young fruit vs. early deciduous; 4) inflorescences relatively large, 8.5-35 cm long, generally many-flowered, with 3-4 order of branching vs. 3-20 cm long, few-flowered, with 1-2 orders of branching; and 5) mature fruit relatively large, 3-5 cm vs. < 2.5cm in diameter (Mo et al 2017a). In addition, Alseodaphnopsis species are distributed in the northern marginal zone of Asian tropics in southwestern China (also in Hainan island) and northern Vietnam while Alseodaphne species are mostly found in the tropics of south and southeast Asia (Kostermans 1973;Li et al 2008;Mo et al 2017a).…”