XVI International Botanical Congess

We sued 61 non-molecular characters from micro-morphology, wood anatomy, phytochemistry, and fungal parasites, combined with the binary coding of branches from three molecular phylogenies (ndhF, nrITS, rbcL) to produce matrix of 125 characters for 43 Rosaceae genera and two outgroup Rhamnaceae genera. Maximum parsimony analysis of thes data result in four equally most parsimonious tress. Although the trees mostly resemble the result of recent molecular analyses of the chloroplast gene rbcL, these trees suggest some novel phylogenetic relationships within the Rosaceae. Most motable is the placement of Porteranthus ( x=9, Gillenieae: Spiraeoideae) at the base of an enlarged Maloideae, and sister Kageneckia and Vauquelinia (x=17 and 15, Quillajeae: Spiraeoideae). The data on chromosome number, gynoecial morphology, and fruit structure are mapped onto one of these tress to generate hypotheses concerning Rosaceae evolution and the orgin of subfamily Maloideae.