XVI International Botanical Congess

Recent molecular systematic studies of Proteaceae resolved a monophyletic clade of nine African genera. The basal member of this clade is Leucadendron, a genus of approximately 80 species that show a range of adaptations to the fire prone and nutrient poor Mediterranean (Fynbos) ecosystem. Because of their importance in this system, Leucadendron has been the focus of studies examining these adaptations. These studies have, however, been limited by the lack of a rigorous species level phylogeny. This study utilises ITS sequence data from over 50 species of Leucadendron to generate a phylogeny that can be used to test the existing infrageneric classification, and examine the evolution of features that are deemed to be important adaptations for survival in the Fynbos.