ibclogo XVI International Botanical Congess

Abstract Number: 3355
Poster No. = 925


PAST CLASSIFICATIONS AND A NEW PHYLOGENY OF THE GINGERS (ZINGIBERACEAE): A SPICY TALE OF PARAPHYLY


W.J. Kress*, L.M. Prince* and K.J. Williams^ (*Botany-NMNH, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560-0166, USA, ^Botany, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA)


The pantropical Zingiberaceae is the largest family in the order Zingiberales with 49 genera and over 1200 species. Past classifications of the family proposed by Schumann (1904) and Burtt (1972) recognized four tribes (Globbeae, Hedychieae, Alpineae, and Zingibereae) based on morphological features, such as number of locules and placentation in the ovary, development of staminodia, modifications of the fertile anther, and rhizome-leaf orientation. A new phylogenetic analysis based on DNA sequences of the nuclear ITS region and plastid matK gene suggest that at least some of these morphological traits are homoplasious and two of the four tribes are paraphyletic. A new classification of the Zingiberaceae is outlined.

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