DEAN, ELLEN A.* AND DANIEL POTTER. Section of Plant Biology and Department of Pomology, One Shields Ave., University of California, Davis, CA 95616. - A phylogeny of Lycianthes series Meizonodontae (Solanaceae) based on morphological and molecular characters.
The nine species of Lycianthes series Meizonodontae are
perennial herbs native to Mexico and Central America. Several of the
species have edible fruits and one (L. moziniana (Dun.) Bitter)
has potential as a crop plant. A phylogenetic analysis of the species
based on 34 morphological and chemical characters clearly supports
the monophyly of the series and indicates that there are two main
clades, one including L. moziniana and its close relatives and
the other including L. ciliolata (Mart. et Gal.) Bitter and its
close relatives. A more recent analysis based on molecular data (the
ITS region of the nuclear genome and the trnT-trnF spacers of the
chloroplast genome) supports the monophyly of the L. ciliolata
group but the group containing L. moziniana is shown as
paraphyletic, with L. moziniana and L. peduncularis
(Schlchtd.) Bitter sister to the L. ciliolata group in an
unresolved trichotomy and L. dejecta (Fern.) Bitter as the
basal member of the series. Given these results, the evolution within
the series of such traits as fruit type, soil preference, and pollen
type will be discussed.
Key words: Lycianthes, phylogeny, Solanaceae, systematics