Abstract Detail

Systematics Section/ASPT

Zuluaga-Trochez, Alejandro [1], Cameron, Kenneth [2].

A preliminary species level phylogeny of Monstera and its relationships within the subfamily Monsteroideae.

Monstera is a medium-sized genus of the family Araceae, and a very important hemiepiphytic component of montane and lowland tropical rainforests. It is exclusively Neotropical, and has two principal centers of diversity: Costa Rica-Panama and the Colombian Andes. This is a poorly known genus and historically its taxonomy has been problematic due to its great amount of existing names, incorrect use of them, and deficient collections. The last taxonomic revision included 22 species, but now is very much out of data, and there are more species that this in Panama or Costa Rica alone. Today, among ca. 130 names, only 39 species are recognized, at least another 6 species are poorly known and their status is unclear, and as many as 10 remain undescribed. Based on morphological characters four sections were proposed, changing considerably previous classifications. The species of sections Marcgraviopsis, Tornelia, and Echinospadix (9 species) are easily recognized based on their morphology, growth habits, and habitat preferences, and intermediates between species are absent. On the other hand, for the species of section Monstera the delimitation is especially challenging due to the morphological intergradation of the species across their geographical distribution. Recent phylogenetic analyses of Araceae by different authors, but including only 1-3 species of Monstera, suggest that the genus is monophyletic and closely related to the Amydrium-Epripemnum clade. In the current classification Monstera belongs to old world Rhaphidophoraclade in the subfamily Monsteroideae. The relationships among the clades within Monsteroideae, and among many genera (especially in the Rhaphidophora clade) are unclear or low supported in previous studies. A detailed morphological study of Monstera is underway, and this is being generated together with a phylogenetic analysis for Monstera and the subfamily Monsteroideae based on chloroplast and nuclear regions. Approximately 120 samples, including about 70 species from the 11 genera, the four Monstera sections, as well as individuals representing several populations of the most variable species, are included. Preliminary phylogenetic reconstructions using one nuclear region (phyC), and three chloroplast regions (matK, trnC-ycf6 spacer, and trnL-trnF) are presented. Monstera is recovered as a monophyletic group, but other genera, especially in the Rhaphidophora clade Monsteroideae are not. The complete infrageneric classification is not supported. The section Tornelia (M. deliciosa) appears as sister of rest of the species, and sections Marcgraviopsis and Echinospadix form a monophyletic clade.

Broader Impacts:

1 - University Of Wisconsin-Madison, 430 Lincoln Drive, UWisconsin-Department Of Botany, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
2 - University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dept of Botany, WI State Herbarium, Birge Hall, 430 Lincoln Dr., Madison, WI, 53706, USA

Keywords:
Araceae
Monstera
Molecular phylogeny
Monsteroideae.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 38
Location: Delaware B/Hyatt
Date: Tuesday, July 10th, 2012
Time: 1:30 PM
Number: 38001
Abstract ID:936