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A morphological cladistic analysis of Lecythidoideae with emphasis on Bertholletia, Corythophora, Eschweilera, and Lecythis

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Abstract

A cladistic analysis was conducted to test the monophyly of Eschweilera and Lecythis as well as to examine the relationships of these two genera and their close relatives Bertholletia and Corythophora. The study included 86 species, representing all four genera and covering the range of taxonomic and morphological variation in the genera. The data matrix included 49 parsimony-informative characters derived from vegetative, floral, fruit, and seed morphology and anatomy. The results based on the consensus of all most parsimonious trees indicate that Bertholletia, Corythophora, Eschweilera, and Lecythis form a clade supported by brachyparacytic stomata, the absence of pedicels (with subsequent reversals in several clades), a two or four-locular ovary, the presence of an aril, and the absence of cotyledons. Within the clade, the monophyly of Corythophora is supported by the presence of inflorescence scales and the absence of nectar. Eschweilera is monophyletic only if E. congestiflora and E. simiorum are excluded. The monophyly of Eschweilera is supported by the presence of a two-locular ovary. Lecythis is not monophyletic, but sections Corrugata, Pisonis, and Poiteaui are monophyletic. Three species of section Lecythis are more closely related to Eschweilera, and other species of section Lecythis along with Bertholletia excelsa remain as unresolved.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Maristerra R. Lemes for her assistance in applying for collecting permits, organizing field trips, and providing supplies for our field work in Amazonian Brazil. We are grateful to staff of the cited herbaria for their help with specimen study, Reinaldo Aguilar, Catherine Bainbridge, E. da Costa Pereira, and C. A. Cid Ferreira for their help in the field. We also thank Robbin Moran for acting as editor-in-chief and two anonymous reviewers for reviewing our manuscript. The first author would also like to thank the Graduate Fellowship of The New York Botanical Garden, Chancellor’s Fellowship of The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, The Cuatrecasas Fellowship of The Smithsonian Institution, The Travel Award of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York (TECO), The Willi Henning Society, and The National Tropical Botanical Garden for financial support of this study.

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  1. The New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Blvd., Bronx, NY 10458-5126, U.S.A. Current address: Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan

    Ya-Yi Huang

  2. Institute of Systematic Botany, The New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Blvd., Bronx, NY, 10458-5126, U.S.A.

    Scott A. Mori

  3. The New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Blvd., Bronx, NY, 10458-5126, U.S.A.

    Lawrence M. Kelly

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Correspondence to Ya-Yi Huang.

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Huang, YY., Mori, S.A. & Kelly, L.M. A morphological cladistic analysis of Lecythidoideae with emphasis on Bertholletia, Corythophora, Eschweilera, and Lecythis . Brittonia 63, 396–417 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12228-011-9202-4

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