XVI International Botanical Congess
Recent studies identified a Cornales clade of Cornus, Alangium, Camptotheca, Davidia, Nyssa, Diplopanax, Mastixia, Curtisia, Hydrangeaceae and Loasaceae, and possibly the enigmatic Hydrostachys and Grubbia. I constructed an rbcL matrix of 87 sequences containing the most complete set of cornalean taxa as well as other asterids and conducted parsimony analyses to ascertain the affinity of Hydrostachys and Grubbia to Cornales and to elucidate relationships within Cornales. These studies confirmed the placement of Hydrostachys and Grubbia in the cornalean clade and identified five major clades: Hydrangeaceae-Loasaceae-Hydrostachys, nyssoids- mastixioids, Cornus-Alangium, Curtisia, and Grubbia. Relationships among these clades are, however, poorly resolved and supported, suggesting that more characters from other genes are needed to better understand the relationships within Cornales.