KIM, HYI-GYUNG1*, VICKI A. FUNK2, ROBERT K. JANSEN3, and ELIZABETH A. ZIMMER1. 1Laboratory of Molecular Systematics, Smithsonian Institution, Suitland, MD 20746; 2Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560; 3Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712. - Phylogenetic relationships of Mutisieae(Asteraceae) from the Guayana Highland.
The Guayana Highland has generated considerable interest among plant
biologists because of their unique flora, high levels of endemism, and
biogeographic isolation. The 10 genera of the tribe Mutisieae in this
region are divided into two groups, one with actinomorphic florets
occurring in Eastern Guayana Highland and the other with the bilabiate
florets in Western Guayana Highland. The former is placed in the
subtribe Gochnatiinae and the latter in the Mutisiinae. Despite their
floral dimorphism and biogeographic distinctiveness, the Guayana
Highland genera have been considered to be monophyletic by previous
workers. Furthermore, this regional assemblage is considered to be a
basal lineage in the subfamily Cichorioideae and the Mutisieae. We
examined four genera of the Mutisieae from Guayana Highland using
sequences of the chloroplast encoded ndhF gene. Phylogenetic
analyses including previously published ndhF sequence from the
Mutisieae and other lineages of Asteraceae suggested that the
Mutisieae of the Guayana Highland are not monophyletic. Ths phylogeny
also provides a framework for reevaluation generic relationships
within the Mutisieae, phytogeography of the Asteraceae, and character
evolution in the family.
Key words: Asteraceae, Guayana Highland, Mutisieae, Phylogeny