XVI International Botanical Congess

Prunus sensu lato and the Prunoideae (Rosaceae) are an economically significant group of trees and shrubs whose taxonomy has remained problematic. Representatives of the Prunoideae were analyzed phylogenetically using sequences of the ndhF chloroplast gene. The genus Exochorda of the Spiraeoideae (Rosaceae) is closely related to members of the Prunoideae. Within Prunus, the ndhF phylogeny suggests that the sections Padus and Laurocerasus are closely related and phylogenetically basal. Sections Cerasus, Prunus, Persica, Amygdalus, and Armeniaca constitute a monophyletic group. The genus Maddenia of the Prunoideae is nested within the Prunus clade and is basal to the Padus-Laurocerasus group. The ndhF phylogeny is mostly congruent with the newly constructed ITS phylogeny of the Prunoideae (S.T. Lee and J. Wen, unpublished).