CAMERON, KENNETH M. The Lewis B. & Dorothy Cullman Program for Molecular Systematics Studies, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458 USA. - On the phylogenetic position of the New Caledonian endemic families Strasbergeriaceae, Oncothecaceae, and Paracryphiaceae: a comparison of molecules and morphology.
Following a collecting trip to New Caledonia in the early 1970s, Bill
Dickison and collaborators published a series of papers focused on the
anatomy, morphology, and systematic relationships of the endemic
families Strasburgeriaceae, Oncothecaceae, and Paracryphiaceae. They
concluded that Strasburgeria, Oncotheca, and
Paracyphia should each be treated as distinct families
positioned near Ochnaceae, Theaceae, and Sphenostemonaceae,
respectively. These anatomical data proved to be a valuable source of
systematic characters, but the precise phylogenetic positions of these
enigmatic families was still left in doubt. In fact, even the ordinal
classification of flowering plants published by the Angiosperm
Phylogeny Group (1998) left uncertain the position of two of these
three families. More recently, however, phylogenies for eudicots based
on multiple gene data sets firmly place Oncothecaceae within
Garryales, Paracryphiaceae within Dipsacales, and Strasburgeriaceae
sister to Ixerbacaeae near Crossosomatales. A comparison of anatomy
and morphology for these groups is presented in the context of these
new phylogenetic hypotheses.
Key words: New Caledonia, Oncothecaceae, Paracryphiaceae, Strasbergeriaceae, William C. Dickison