XVI International Botanical Congess

Numerous phenotypic studies have been conducted on Myrtales, yet the detailed relationships among the families of the order remain elusive. Presented here is a cladistic analysis of three data sets: morphology and rbcL and ndhF sequences. Both molecular data sets identify two major clades: 1) a Myrtaceae lineage sister to a Melastomataceae lineage and 2) a clade including Onagraceae, a Lythraceae s.l., and Combretaceae. Morphology presents a different perspective. Various congruency tests are used to depict the difference between the data sets. A tree of trees" analysis based on trees generated from separate analyses of each data set, a combined molecular data set, and a total evidence data set demonstrates the distinctiveness of the morphology based trees. The evolution of morphology, cytology, and ecological features and biogeography within Myrtales is examined based on the cpDNA tree.