SWENSEN, SUSAN M.1* and MARK C. TEBBITT2. 1Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY; 2Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, NY. - ASPT Colloquium: Evolution, biogeography and systematics of Begoniaceae.
The family Begoniaceae contains three genera, Begonia,
Hillebrandia, and Symbegonia. Genus Begonia is
pantropical and comprises roughly 1400 species divided among 63
sections. Symbegonia contains 12 species endemic to New Guinea
and Hillebrandia is represented by a single species endemic to
the Hawaiian archipelago. Relationships among these genera, as well as
the sections of Begonia, are not well understood and little
information pertaining to the phylogeographic history of the family
exists. As the distribution of the sections of Begonia and the
segregate genera coincide to a large degree with continental
boundaries, determination of their relationships is likely to reveal
the phylogeographic history of the family. This colloquium brings
together several researchers from North America and Europe who have
recently made significant progress in reconstructing the phylogeny of
Begoniaceae using both morphology and DNA sequence data. The aim of
the colloquium is to provide an overview of the advances in our
understanding of Begoniaceae evolution and to foster additional
collaboration among researchers working on this large family. The
initial presentations are designed to be general and introductory in
scope. The succeeding talks are more focused and will consider
phylogeny of specific continental groups of Begonia, gene flow
and speciation in Begonia, phylogeny of Hillebrandia and
Symbegonia, and the systematic and biogeographic implications
of these data. The talks will consider morphological changes in the
family and how these changes can be interpreted in the context of
molecular-based phylogenies. The colloquium will provide the forum to
more fully present the recent advances and will allow better
conceptualization of the large amount of information that has been
generated.
Key words: Begoniaceae, biogeography, evolution, phylogeny, systematics