| dc.description.abstract | The last taxonomic treatment of the subtribe Anthosperminae Benth. (Rubiaceae,
Rubioideae, Anthospermeae) was in 1986 by Puff., nevertheless, few attempts have
been made to resolve the phylogeny and the inter- and infrageneric relationships within
the subtribe. The genera Anthospermum L. (39 species) and Nenax Gaertn. (11 species)
are considered the most difficult groups to distinguish. Anthospermum species are
widely distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar with the highest
concentration of taxa in southern Africa, while Nenax species are restricted to southern
Africa, in the south-western Cape Floristic Region. The two genera share common
morphological and anatomical characters such as the growth form, presence of hairs on
the stem, leaf arrangement, presence of petioles, flowers formation, dehiscence and
presence of carpophore in fruits. currently combination of characters, woody shrub,
needle-like leaves, few-flowered inflorescence and dioecy are considered unique in
Nenax.
The most recent phylogenetic analysis based on molecular data indicated
insights into generic relationships within the two genera and the subtribe
Anthosperminae. The present study focussed on expanding the phylogenetic analysis of
Anthospermum, Nenax and other genera within the subtribe, as well as assessing the
value of selected morphological and anatomical characters for re-assesing generic
circumscriptions. Phylogenetic relationships were analysed using Maximum Parsimony,
Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian inference, and a Maximum Clade Credibility tree was
produced. These analyses were based on both nuclear (ITS, ETS) and plastid (trnL-f,
rps16, rpl32) datasets. | en_US |
