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Molecular Phylogenetics of the Leafy Cactus Genus <I>Pereskia</I> (Cactaceae)

2005; American Society of Plant Taxonomists; Volume: 30; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1600/036364405775097806

1548-2324

Charles A. Butterworth, Robert S. Wallace,

Plant and Fungal Species Descriptions

Abstract Members of Pereskia exhibit some presumably plesiomorphic characters for the Cactaceae including shrubby habit, non-succulent or partially succulent leaves, and in some species, nearly superior ovaries. In addition, the members show a transition from perigynous flowers with half-inferior ovaries to those species having true receptacular epigyny (the predominant condition in the Cactaceae). To examine interspecific relationships within Pereskia we utilized cpDNA restriction-site data and sequences from two non-coding regions of the plastid genome—the psbA-trnH intergenic spacer and the rpl16 intron. Maximum parsimony and Bayesian analyses identified three major clades: a clade containing the widespread P. aculeata and the Andean species, a clade containing six species found primarily in southeastern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, and Bolivia, and a third clade centered in southern Central America and the Caribbean. The relationship between these three clades and the rest of the Cactaceae re...