Jasminum is the largest genus in the family Oleaceae. The species numbers are estimated from 150 to 450 depending on the authors. Several species are widely cultivated in all over the world. However, most species are distributed in Asian/African sub-/tropic regions. The genus is traditionally classified into two groups, section Alternifolia and the opposite-leaved group, based on the arrangement of leaves. The opposite-leaved group further classified into three sections; Unifoliolata, Pinnatifolia and Trifoliolata, based on the number of leaflets. Recent molecular sequence data suggest that the Menodora may include within Jasminum. In order to evaluate the phylogenetic relationships between Menodora and Jasminum and to estimate the evolutionary directions of leaf character in Jasminum, we sequenced the trnT-L-F regions (¡Ö1600bp) of chloroplast genome and nuclear ITS regions (¡Ö700bp) from including 16 species of Menodora, 70 species of Jasminum, and 10 outgroup genera. Both nuclear ITS and chloroplast trnT-L-F sequence data support the monophyly of three major clades including Menodora, alternate-leaved Jasminum and opposite-leaved Jasminum. The genus Menodora was nested within Jasminum and form a sister clade to the alternate-leaved Jasminum. Traditionary recognized three sections within the opposite-leaved Jasminum were not monophyletic and mixed each others in some species. The monophyly of Menodora was further supported by an unique 300bp insertion mutation in the chloroplast trnT-L noncoding region.

Key words: Biogeography, Jasminum, Leaf form evolution, Menodora, Molecular phylogeny, Oleaceae