XVI International Botanical Congess

Molecular phylogeny of Tetramolopium (Asteraceae) in the Austral-Pacific based on nrDNA ITS sequence data. Tetramolopium occurs in the Hawaiian Islands, Cook Islands, and New Guinea. Sequences from the nrDNA ITS region were used to examine relationships among the species in the genus. Outgroup taxa included species from putatively related Australian genera: Vittadinia, Minuria, Camptacra, and Peripleura. The results indicate that the Hawaiian species are a clade with the Cook Island species being a sister taxon. New Guinean species of Tetramolopium are more closely related to Vittadinia than to the South Pacific Tetramolopium taxa. Peripleura is a sister taxon to the South Pacific Tetramolopium clade. These results indicate the generic limits in this group of genera need to be redefined.