ibclogo XVI International Botanical Congess


Abstract Number: 2512
Poster No. = 496


PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS IN BUXACEAE: PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM STRUCTURAL AND MOLECULAR STUDIES (ITS, NDHF)


Maria von Balthazar, P. K. Endress, Y. Qiu, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008 Zurich, Switzerland


Buxaceae are a small eudicot family comprising five genera and c. 120 species. The genus Buxus is widely distributed, while the other smaller genera are geographically restricted. Members of this family are typically evergreen, monoecious shrubs or suffrutescent herbs. Floral phyllotaxis is generally decussate in male flowers with up to 12 tepals and 4 stamens and a central pistillode. Female flowers have up to 20 tepals and 2-3 carpels with spiral or decussate arrangement. Styloceras differs in many characters. The systematic position of Buxaceae and relationships within the family are controversial. Sequence data from internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of nuclear rRNA genes and from the chloroplast gene ndhF as well as structural data are used to evaluate phylogenetic relationships.


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