TAXON 57 (1) • February 2008: 1–17
Khan & al. • Tribal and generic circumscriptions of Sabiceeae
Sabiceeae and Virectarieae (Rubiaceae, Ixoroideae): one or two tribes?
New tribal and generic circumscriptions of Sabiceeae and biogeography
of Sabicea s.l.
Saleh A. Khan1,3, Sylvain G. Razafimandimbison2, Birgitta Bremer2 & Sigrid Liede-Schumann1
Department of Plant Systematics, University of Bayreuth, Universitätstr. 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
sigrid.liede@uni-bayreuth.de (author for correspondence)
2
Bergius Foundation, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; Department of Botany, Stockholm University,
10691, Stockholm, Sweden
3
Department of Botany, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka 1342, Bangladesh
1
The results of two recent phylogenetic studies led to the reinstatement of the tribe Sabiceeae, currently classified in the subfamily Ixoroideae s.l. (Rubiaceae) but with conflicting circumscriptions. In the present study,
phylogenetic analyses based on nrITS and trnT-F sequence data of 78 taxa are performed to evaluate the different circumscriptions of Sabiceeae, the generic limits within Sabiceeae, and the biogeography of Sabicea.
The polyphyly of Sabiceeae sensu Andersson is confirmed, and Pentaloncha and Temnopteryx are shown not
to belong to Ixoroideae s.l. but to the subfamily Rubioideae. Our results favour a broad circumscription of
Sabiceeae that includes Ecpoma, Hekistocarpa, Pseudosabicea, Sabicea, Schizostigma, Stipularia, Tamridaea
and Virectaria. Sabicea sensu Wernham is not monophyletic unless Ecpoma, Pseudosabicea, Schizostigma,
and Stipularia are included. We find no support for the monophyly of Stipularia, Sabicea and Pseudosabicea.
Therefore, our newly circumscribed Sabiceeae contains only Hekistocarpa, Sabicea s.l. (Ecpoma, Pseudosabicea, Schizostigma, Stipularia), Tamridaea, and Virectaria. Finally, our analyses indicate several dispersal
events of Sabicea species between African phytogeographical regions and continental African origins of the
Malagasy, São Tomean, Asian, and Neotropical species of Sabicea via perhaps four independent dispersal
events.
KEYWORDS: biogeography, nrITS, Rubiaceae, Sabicea, Sabiceeae, trnT-F, Virectarieae
INTRODUCTION
Grisebach (1861) originally described the pantropical subtribe Sabiceinae (as “Sabicieae”) of the tribe Cinchoneae in the subfamily Cinchonoideae (Rubiaceae)
to accommodate two genera, Sabicea Aubl. and Coccocypselum P. Br., both with valvate corolla aestivation.
Bremekamp (1934) established a monogeneric tribe Sabiceeae Bremek. (as “Sabiceae”), but no other rubiaceous
taxonomists (except Bremekamp, 1966) accepted its tribal
status between 1934 and 1996 (see Table 1). The type
genus Sabicea was classified in the tribes Mussaendeae
Benth. & Hook. f. (Verdcourt, 1958; Hallé, 1961; Hallé,
1966; Steyermark, 1962, 1972, 1974) or Isertieae A. Rich.
ex DC. (Kirkbride, 1979, 1982; Robbrecht, 1988, 1993).
For tropical Africa Hallé (1961) classified Sabicea and its
four traditionally associated genera—Ecpoma K. Schum.
(Schumann, 1896), Pentaloncha Hook. f. (Hooker, 1873a),
Stipularia P. Beauv. (Palisot-Beauvois, 1807), and Temnopteryx Hook. f. (Hooker, 1873a)—in Mussaendeae.
Hallé (1966) placed Ecpoma and Pseudosabicea and Pentaloncha, respectively, in his new subtribes Mussandenae
and Urophyllinae of Mussaendeae. Steyermark (1962)
classified the Neotropical Pittierothamnus Steyerm. in
Mussaendeae s.l. but later merged it with Amphidasya
Standl., also endorsed by Kirkbride (1979, 1982) and
Robbrecht (1988). Bremekamp (1966) made the last attempt to re-establish Sabiceeae based on simple stipules,
axillary inflorescences, and very narrow testa cells rather
than bifid stipules, terminal inflorescences, and large testa
cells of Mussaendeae. It is notable that some authors, mentioned above, used the tribal name Mussaendeae, although
Isertiae had priority over Mussaendeae, because the tribe
Mussaendeae contained the type genus (Isertia Schreb.)
of Isertiae (Darwin, 1976). Robbrecht (1988) transferred
to Isertieae the Indo-Malesian genus Acranthera Arn. ex
Meisn. (Meisner, 1838), previously placed by Bremekamp
(1966) in its own tribe, and all above genera traditionally
associated with Mussaendeae plus Schizostigma Arn. ex
Meisn., with the exception of Pentaloncha, which was left
unclassified in Rubiaceae (see Table 1).
Sabiceeae was resurrected as a result of the morphological-based phylogeny of Isertieae sensu Robbrecht
(1988) conducted by Andersson (1996). Stipularia was
deeply nested within Sabiceeae (Andersson 1996: Fig.
5) but was not among the nine genera that he included
1
Khan & al. • Tribal and generic circumscriptions of Sabiceeae
in his Sabiceeae (Table 1). Based on a rbcL phylogeny
Bremer & Thulin (1998) showed that Sabiceeae sensu Andersson (1996) was highly polyphyletic and additionally
postulated that Acranthera might perhaps belong to the
subfamily Rubioideae, consistent with Alejandro & al.’s
(2005: Fig. 1) trnT-F-based phylogeny. Bremer & Thulin
(1998) demonstrated for the first time that the broadly
delimited Mussaendeae (sensu Hallé, 1961; Hallé, 1966)
or Isertieeae (sensu Robbrecht, 1988) was also highly
polyphyletic. As a result, they re-established Mussaendeae to accommodate Mussaenda and its satellite genera (Aphaenandra Miq., Heinsia DC., Neomussaenda C.
Tange, Pseudomussaenda Wernham, Schizomussaenda
H.L. Li) and restricted Isertieae to include the type genus
Isertia. They further showed that the African genus Virectaria Bremek., previously placed by Verdcourt (1958)
in its own tribe Virectarieae Verdc., is closely related
to Pseudosabicea and Sabicea. Accordingly, they tentatively proposed a new circumscription of Sabiceeae,
which included Sabicea, Pseudosabicea, the monotypic
genus Tamridaea Thulin & B. Bremer, and Virectaria.
They considered Stipularia to be closely related to Pseudosabicea and Sabicea based on morphological grounds.
On the other hand, Dessein & al. (2001b: 22) considered
Virectaria to be an isolated genus within Sabiceeae sensu
Bremer & Thulin (1998) based on a few morphological
characters (e.g., internal indument and seed anatomy).
TAXON 57 (1) • February 2008: 1–17
The rbcL jackknife tree of Dessein & al. (2001a) further
confirmed the close relationships between Tamridaea
and Virectaria and showed for the first time that the African monotypic genus Hekistocarpa Hook. f. (Hooker,
1873b) is closely related to these two genera. Dessein &
al. (2001a: 75) additionally stressed that they “fail to find
any morphological characteristics that are common to
Hekistocarpa, Pseudosabicea, Sabicea, Tamridaea, and
Virectaria of Sabiceeae in a broad sense.” As a result,
they resurrected the tribe Virectarieae to accommodate
Hekistocarpa, Tamridaea, and Virectaria and restricted
Sabiceeae to include only Sabicea and four of its traditionally allied genera (Ecpoma, Pentaloncha, Pseudosabicea, Stipularia). They admitted that their emended
Virectarieae was difficult to diagnose morphologically.
More recently, Robbrecht & Manen (2006) adopted another broader circumscription of Sabiceeae including
eight genera and recognized two subtribes (Table 1):
Sabiceinae (Bremek.) Robbr. & Manen and Virectariinae
(Verdc.) Robbr. & Manen (= Virectarieae sensu Dessein
& al., 2001a). The above conflicting circumscriptions of
Sabiceeae drew our attention to further investigations.
Sabicea is the most species-rich genus of Sabiceeae
with ca. 146 species of scandent shrubs, woody climbers, and scramblers or twiners. With two main centres of
diversity, mainland Africa (ca. 82 species) and the Neotropics (ca. 54 species), Sabicea shows a trans-Atlantic
Bremekamp
(1966)
Hallé
(1966)
Steyermark
(1962)
Steyermark
(1972)
Robbrecht
(1988)
Andersson
(1996)
Bremer &
Thulin (1998)
–
–
Acr
–
–
–
Ise
Sab
Rubi –
This study
Hallé
(1961)
–
Robbrecht &
Manen (2006)
Verdcourt
(1958)
Acranthera Arn. ex Meisn.
Dessein & al.
(2001a)
Genera
Bremekamp
(1934)
Table 1. Previous and new tribal positions of Sabicea and its traditionally and presently allied genera.
–
Rubi
Rubi
Amphidasya Standl.
–
–
–
–
–
–
Mus
Ise
Sab
Rubi –
Uro
Ecpoma K. Schum.
–
–
Mus
–
Mus
–
–
Ise
Sab
–
Sab
SabS Sab
Hekistocarpa Hook. f.
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Hed
–
–
Vir
SabV Sab
Pentaloncha Hook. f.
–
–
Mus
Pau
Mus
–
–
Ins
Sab
–
Sab
–
Rubi
Pittierothamnus Steyerm.
–
–
–
–
–
Mus
–
–
Sab
–
–
–
–
Pseudosabicea N. Hallé
–
–
–
–
Mus
–
–
Ise
Sab
Sab
Sab
SabS Sab
Sabicea Aubl.
Sab
Mus
Mus
Sab
Mus
Mus
Mus
Ise
Sab
Sab
Sab
SabS Sab
Schizostigma Arn. ex Meisn.
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Ise
Sab
–
–
SabS Sab
Stipularia P. Beauv.
–
–
Mus
–
Mus
–
–
Ise
–
Sab
Sab
SabS Sab
Tamridaea Thulin & B. Bremer
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Sab
Vir
SabV Sab
Temnopteryx Hook. f.
–
–
Mus
Pau
Mus
–
–
Ise
Sab
–
–
–
Virectaria Bremek.
–
Vir
–
Oph
Hed
–
–
Hed
–
Sab
Vir
SabV Sab
Rubi
Acr, tribe Acranthereae; Hed, Hedyotideae; Ins, Incertae sedis; Ise, Isertieae; Mus, Mussaendeae; Oph, Ophiorrhizeae; Pau, Pauridiantheae; Rubi, Rubioideae; Sab, Sabiceeae; SabS, Sabiceeae subtribe Sabiceinae; SabV, Sabiceeae subtribe Virectariinae; Vir,
Virectarieae; Uro, Urophylleae s.l. (including Pauridiantheae); – , not mentioned.
2
TAXON 57 (1) • February 2008: 1–17
distribution shared with few other Rubiaceae genera. Six
species are endemic to Madagascar (Razafimandimbison
& Miller, 1999), three to São Tomé and Príncipe (Joffroy, 2001), and one, S. ceylanica Puff. (Puff & al., 1998),
originally described as Schizostigma hirsutum Arn. ex
Meisn. (Meisner, 1838), to Sri Lanka. Aublet (1775) originally described Sabicea from South America including
two species, S. aspera Aubl. and S. cinerea Aubl., with
twining habits and 3–5-locular ovaries. Wernham (1914)
proposed a broad circumscription of Sabicea including
105 species from Africa and South America with usually shrubby, climbing or prostrate to scrambling habits,
isophylly or anisophylly, entire to fimbriate or laciniate
stipules, axillary inflorescences, (sub-) free bracts, valvate
corolla lobes, and (2)4–5-locular ovaries. Additionally,
he recognized two subgenera in Sabicea based on the
combination of habit and leaf and stipule sizes: Sabicea
subgen. Stipulariopsis Wernham with 9 species and Sabicea subgen. Eusabicea Wernham with 96 species. Wernham (1914), endorsed by Hiern (1877), Hallé (1961), Hallé
(1963, 1966), Andersson (1996), Bremer & Thulin (1998),
and Dessein & al. (2001a), recognized the African Stipularia as a distinct genus because of its large stipules and
well-developed campanulate involucral bracts completely
surrounding the entire inflorescence (Palisot-Beauvois,
1807). On the other hand, Hepper’s (1958) herbarium
studies revealed that involucral bracts also occurred in
few African Sabicea species (e.g., S. capitellata Benth,
S. dewevrei De Wild. & T. Durand, S. cordata Hutch. &
Dalziel, and S. urceolata Hepper) with variation in the
degree of fusion. As a result, he merged the five described
species of Stipularia (S. africana P. Beauv., S. efulenensis
Hutch., S. elliptica Schweinf. ex Hiern, S. gabonica Hiern,
and S. mollis Wernham) with Sabicea. Both Hallé (1961)
and Hallé (1963, 1966) rejected Hepper’s (1958) circumscription of Sabicea and reinstated Stipularia as a distinct
genus. Plus, Hallé (1963) viewed Sabicea sensu Wernham
(1914) as morphologically heterogeneous and accordingly
restricted the genus to include only species with usually
lianescent, slender and twining habits, long corollas,
(4–)5-locular ovaries, accrescent fleshy axis of ovary,
narrow, thin and sessile placentas, and fleshy juicy fruits
with often-red carmine pulp. He then described the genus
Pseudosabicea to accommodate all the African Sabicea
species with creeping or climbing but non-twining habit,
short corollas, 2(–3)-locular ovaries, non-fleshy axis of
ovary, oblong, peltate and fleshy placentas, and scantly
fleshy fruits with colourless pulp. In addition, Hallé (1963)
transferred five African Sabicea species (S. bicarpellata
K. Schum., S. cauliflora Hiern, S. geantha Hiern, S. gigantostipula K. Schum., S. hierniana Wernham) to the
African genus Ecpoma.
Arnott (1839) viewed Schizostigma as closely related
to Sabicea and more recently, Puff & al. (1998) merged
Khan & al. • Tribal and generic circumscriptions of Sabiceeae
Schizostigma in Sabicea, which they considered to be
closely related to Ecpoma, Pseudosabicea, Stipularia,
and Temnopteryx. Both Hallé (1961, 1966) and Puff & al.
(1998) totally rejected Hiern’s (1877) attempt to merge
Pentaloncha and Temnopteryx with Schizostigma.
Although most Rubiaceae systematists seem to accept
Sabicea sensu Hallé (1963, 1966), the monophyly of the
above conflicting circumscriptions of Sabicea or its close
allies have never been assessed before. Previous phylogenetic studies in some Rubiaceae groups based on the nrITS
region of rDNA (e.g., Andreasen & al., 1999; Razafimandimbison & al., 2004; Motley & al., 2005) and the trnT-F
region of chloroplast DNA (e.g., Razafimandimbison &
Bremer, 2002; Alejandro & al., 2005) have demonstrated
that both markers are useful for inferring phylogenetic
relationships at tribal and generic levels in the family. The
main objective of this study is to reconstruct phylogenies
of Sabicea and its closely related genera using the sequence data from both the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (nrITS1-5.8S-nrITS2 region) and the trnT-F
regions of chloroplast DNA (trnT UGU- trnL UAA 5′ exon, trnLUAA 5′ exon-trnLUAA intron, trnLUAA intron-trnLUAA 3′ exon,
trnLUAA 3′ exon-trnFGAA). The resulting phylogenies have
been used to assess: (1) the conflicting circumscriptions
of Sabiceeae, (2) the generic limits within Sabiceeae, and
(3) the biogeography of Sabicea.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Taxon selection. — A total of 36 species (38 individuals) belonging to Sabicea and 9 genera currently
or traditionally associated with Sabiceeae and 19 genera
presently placed in Cinchonoideae s.str., Ixoroideae s.l.,
and Rubioideae (Appendix) were included in the trnT-F
analyses to assess the competing circumscriptions of Sabiceeae. Neither Acranthera nor Amphidasya were included
in our analyses, as they have recently been shown to be
related to Rubioideae (Bremer & Thulin 1998; Alejandro
& al. 2005). No material was available for Pittierothamnus. The genus Luculia Sweet (L. grandifolia Ghose) was
used as the outgroup taxon, in agreement with its basal
position in Rubiaceae (Bremer & al., 1999; Rova & al.,
2002). A total of 39 Sabicea species (40 individuals), 8
Pseudosabicea species (9 individuals), 2 species each of
Stipularia and Virectaria, 1 Ecpoma species, and 1 individual each of the monotypic Hekistocarpa, Schizostigma,
and Tamridaea were included in the the nrITS analyses
and all of these accessions excluding Tamridaea were
included in the combined nrITS + trnT-F analyses to
assess the generic limits within Sabiceeae. One species
each of Heinsia DC. (Mussaendeae sensu Bremer &
Thulin, 1998), Canthium Lam. (Vanguerieae A. Rich. ex
Dumort.), Ixora L. (Ixoreae sensu Andreasen & Bremer,
3
Khan & al. • Tribal and generic circumscriptions of Sabiceeae
2000), and Warszewiczia Klotzsch (Condamineeae sensu
Rova & al., 2002), all currently classified in Ixoroideae
s.l., were selected to root the nrITS and combined analyses
(see Appendix).
DNA isolation, amplification, and sequencing.
— DNA isolation, amplification, and sequencing of the
nrITS region were accomplished following the protocols
described in Alejandro & al. (2005). The amplification
and sequencing of the trnT-F region were performed following the protocols outlined in Razafimandimbison &
Bremer (2002). For each 25 μL PCR reaction we added
15.8 μL dH2O, 2 μL MgCl2 (25 mM), 1.5 μL dNTP (2
mM), 1.0 μL each of forward (P17F, 5′-CTA CCG ATT
GAA TGG TCC GGT GAA-3′) and reverse (26S-82R,
5′-TCC CGG TTC GCT CGC CGT TAC TA-3′) primers
(10 pmol/μL), 2.5 μL PCR buffer (10×), 0.2 μL TAQ DNA
polymerase, and 1.0 μL DNA sample.
Sequence alignment and coding of indels. — Forward and reverse sequences generated for both the nrITS
and trnT-F regions were assembled using the Perkin Elmer
Sequence Navigator, version 1.0.1 and Sequencher 3.1.1 and
aligned with the CLUSTAL-W (Thompson & al., 1994) to
obtain preliminary alignments, which were subsequently
edited manually. We coded all informative indels using the
simple gap coding method (Simmons & Ochoterena, 2000)
and assessed their effects on the results.
Phylogenetic analyses. — Maximum parsimony
analyses (hereafter MPA) of both the nrITS and nrITS
+ trnT-F data were performed with PAUP*, version 4.0b
(Swofford, 2000) using the heuristic search settings: MulTrees option on, tree-bisection-reconnection (TBR) branch
swapping, swap on best only in effect, 5,000 random addition sequences. We performed MPA of the trnT-F matrix
using the same settings, but the searches were frequently
terminated prematurely due to the limitation of computer
memory. As a result, we analysed the trnT-F data using
MulTrees option off, TBR branch swapping, swap on best
only in effect, and 10,000 random addition sequences. To
estimate homoplasy the consistency index (CI) and retention index (RI) were calculated. To assess the support of
the retained clades the bootstrap values were computed
using 1,000 replicates, MulTrees option on, TBR branch
swapping, and five random addition sequences. We performed parsimony and bootstrap analyses of each of the
trnT-F, nrITS and combined nrITS + trnT-F datasets with
and without the coded indels to assess the effects of indel
coding. No notable conflicts were found in the topologies
of the trnT-F, nrITS, and combined nrITS + trnT-F trees
or supports to the recognized clades for using the matrices
with or without coded indels; therefore, finally we used
the trnT-F, nrITS and combined nrITS + trnT-F matrices
without indel coding. In all analyses, characters were of
equal weight, gaps were treated as missing data, and only
parsimony-informative characters were included. Visual
4
TAXON 57 (1) • February 2008: 1–17
comparisons between the trnT-F and nrITS trees from the
preliminary parsimony analyses revealed topological conflicts regarding the position of Tamridaea (Figs. 1–2). The
agreement on when the datasets should be combined is not
generalized (Queiroz & al., 1995) and combinability tests
have come under considerable criticism (Bremer 1996;
Bayer & al. 2002). Therefore, we combined the trnT-F and
nrITS data partitions examining the conflicting position
of Tamridaea in the trnT-F and nrITS bootstrap trees.
The supports for the conflicting positions of Tamridaea
in the trnT-F and ITS trees (BS = 79–87 and BS = 65–78,
respectively, depending on the alignment) were high, due
to which finally we performed the combined nrITS + trnTF analyses excluding Tamridaea.
We performed Bayesian analyses (hereafter BA) in
MrBayes, version 3.1.2 (Huelsenbeck & Ronquist, 2001)
using the substitution model parameters: Prset statefreqpr = dirichlet (1,1,1,1); Lset nst = 6 rates = equal;
selected as best fit under Akaike Information Criterion
(AIC) by MrModeltest, version 2.2 (Nylander, 2004) for
the uncoded trnT-F, nrITS and combined nrITS + trnTF datasets. In all searches, we used the default settings
(MrBayes, version 3.1.2) for all active parameters for the
corresponding substitution models, as well as, for the heating scheme. Eight chains under two simultaneous runs,
with 100 sample frequencies were executed and monitored
up to 3.4–4.0 × 106 Markov chain Monte Carlo (mcmc)
generations for arriving at the stationary phase (with average standard deviation of split frequencies < 0.01 and
PSRF = about 1.0). After discarding 25% of the samples as
burn-in, the graphical presentations of summarized resulting trees were generated in PAUP* and Tree View (Page,
1996.) program. Internodes with posterior probabilities
of more than 0.95 were considered as reliable support.
In this study we infer the biogeography of Sabicea s.l.
based on our results of MPA and BA of combined nrITS
+ trnT-F datasets.
RESULTS
Sequence and alignment characteristics. — The
characteristics of the non-aligned trnT-F and nrITS sequences of Sabiceeae s.l. and the aligned matrices of the
trnT-F and nrITS datasets and the nrITS and trnT-F partitions of the combined datasets are summarized in Table 2.
The characteristics of the nrITS sequences and alignment
were nearly the same in the nrITS and combined nrITS +
trnT-F matrices. The 5.8S subunit was constant in length
(165 bp) for all sequenced taxa.
trnT-F analyses (Fig. 1). — The trnT-F analyses
included 58 sequences, of which 39 are newly published
here. The MPA of the trnT-F sequences data resulted in
8,067 equally parsimonious trees (each 977 steps long [L],
Khan & al. • Tribal and generic circumscriptions of Sabiceeae
TAXON 57 (1) • February 2008: 1–17
CI = 0.679, RI = 0.879). All ingroup taxa were resolved
in three strongly supported (BS = 100, PP = 1.00) major
clades, corresponding to the subfamilies Rubioideae, Cinchonoideae s.str., and Ixoroideae s.l. (Bremer & al., 1999).
The investigated members of Sabiceeae sensu Andersson
(1996) were resolved in three separate highly supported
subclades (Fig. 1): the Pentaloncha clade (BS = 100, PP
= 1.00) and the Temnopteryx clade (BS = 100, PP = 1.00)
both nested in Rubioideae, and the Ecpoma-Pseudosabicea-Sabicea-Schizostigma-Stipularia clade (BS = 83, PP
= 1.00; called Sabiceeae s.str. hereafter) nested in Ixoroideae s.l. Within Ixoroideae s.l. Virectarieae sensu Dessein
& al. (2001b), represented by Hekistocarpa minutiflora
Hook. f., Virectaria multiflora (Sm.) Bremek. and V.
procumbens (Sm.) Bremek., and Tamridaea capsulifera
(Balf. f.) Thulin & B. Bremer, was not resolved as monophyletic. Virectaria multiflora and V. procumbens formed
a strongly supported (BS = 100, PP = 1.00) monophyletic
group, whereas H. minutiflora was left unresolved. Tamridaea capsulifera was resolved with moderate (BS = 80)
and high (PP = 1.00) support, respectively, in the MPA
and BA as sister to Sabiceeae s.str. The non-monophyletic
Virectarieae sensu Dessein & al. (2001b) and Sabiceeae
s.str. together (hereafter called Sabiceeae s.l.) formed a
highly supported (BS = 100, PP = 1.00) monophyletic
group. All studied Neotropical Sabicea species, with the
exception of S. mexicana Wernham, formed a weakly (BS
= 62) or highly (PP = 0.96) supported clade, respectively,
in the MPA and BA.
nrITS analyses (Fig. 2). — A total of 61 nrITS sequences were included in the analyses and 56 are newly
published here. The MPA of the nrITS data resulted in
210 equally parsimonious trees (L = 542, CI = 0.601, RI =
0.758). In the strict consensus tree (Fig. 2), Hekistocarpa
minutiflora was resolved, with high support (BS = 100,
PP = 1.00), as sister to a very large, moderately (BS =
83) and highly (PP = 0.98) supported clade, respectively,
in the MPA and BA analyses. That clade contained all
investigated members of Tamridaea, Virectaria, Stipularia, Pseudosabicea, Sabicea, Schizostigma, and Ecpoma. Tamridaea capsulifera and the two Virectaria
species formed a moderately (BS = 70) and strongly (PP
= 1.00) supported clade, respectively, in the MPA and
BA anslyses. This Tamridaea-Virectaria clade was in
turn resolved as sister to the strongly supported (BS =
100, PP = 1.00) Sabiceeae s.str. clade. Within the latter clade, Stipularia elliptica was resolved as sister to a
moderately supported (BS = 75) clade containing Stipularia efulenensis and all sequenced species of Ecpoma,
Pseudosabicea, Sabicea, and Schizostigma (hereafter
called Pseudosabicea-Sabicea-Stipularia-SchizostigmaEcpoma clade). Within this large clade all Pseudosabicea
species were resolved in two highly supported clades:
one formed by five Pseudosabicea species (BS = 99, PP
= 1.00) and the other by three Pseudosabicea species,
including the type species (Good, 1923; Hallé, 1970)
Pseudosabicea nobilis (R. Good) N. Hallé (BS = 98, PP
= 1.00). The former Pseudosabicea clade was resolved
Table 2. Characteristics of Sabiceeae sequences and the alignments used in the phylogenetic analyses.
Markers
Matrix
Range of non-aligned
sequence lengths in
Sabiceeae s.l. (bp)
trnT-F
trnT-F
1,574–1,688
Range of GC contents in Sabiceeae s.l. Number of
sequences (%)
characters
28.9–32.5
2,348
Informative
characters
Informative
characters in
Sabiceeae s.l.
495 (21.08%)
273 (11.63%)
trnT-L spacer
trnT-F
684–788
21.2–27.6
1,165
291 (12.39%)
165 (7.03%)
trnL intron
trnT-F
544–616
36.7–38.5
761
108 (4.60%)
62 (2.64%)
trnL-F spacer
trnT-F
268–324
32.1–36.2
422
96 (4.09%)
46 (1.96%)
ITS
ITS
566–599
53.7–65.5
670
202 (30.15%)
157 (23.43%)
ITS1
ITS
186–221
52.7–68.7
268
109 (16.27%)
78 (11.64%)
S5.8
ITS
165
54.5–53.3
165
6 (0.90%)
6 (0.90%)
ITS2
ITS
207–216
54.2–70.9
237
87 (12.98%)
73 (10.90%)
ITS
nrITS + trnT-F
589–599
53.7–65.5
670
201 (30.00%)
148 (22.09%)
ITS1
nrITS + trnT-F
216–221
52.7–68.7
268
109 (16.27%)
76 (11.34%)
S5.8
nrITS + trnT-F
165
54.5–53.3
165
6 (0.90%)
6 (0.90%)
ITS2
nrITS + trnT-F
207–216
54.2–70.9
237
86 (12.83%)
66 (9.85%)
trnT-F
nrITS + trnT-F
1,295–1,673
28.2–38.7
1,927
143 (7.63%)
64 (3.42%)
trnT-L spacer
nrITS + trnT-F
699–773
24.3–26.5
948
80 (4.15%)
47 (2.44%)
trnL intron
nrITS + trnT-F
523–616
36.5–44.4
642
29 (1.50%)
17 (0.88%)
trnL-F spacer
nrITS + trnT-F
185–331
35.4–37.3
337
34 (1.76%)
10 (0.56%)
5
Khan & al. • Tribal and generic circumscriptions of Sabiceeae
100
1.00
100
1.00
100
1.00
74
73
87
0.99
100
1.00
100
1.00
100
1.00
100
1.00
94
1.00
70
100
1.00
69
77
1.00
99
1.00
82
100
1.00 100
1.00
1.00 100
1.00 82
1.00
100
1.00
100
1.00
80
1.00
TAXON 57 (1) • February 2008: 1–17
83
1.00
Sabicea s.l.
62
0.96
Outgroup
RUBIOIDEAE
CINCHONOIDEAE
IXOROIDEAE s.l.
SABICEEAE s.l.
SABICEEAE s.str.
Luculia grandifolia
Ophiorrhiza mungos
Pentaloncha humilis 1
Pentaloncha humilis 2
Temnopteryx sericea 1
Temnopteryx sericea 2
Coussarea sp.
Psychotria amboniana
Gynochthodes coriacea
Normandia neocaledonica
Pentas parvifolia
Danais xanthorrhoea
Nauclea orientalis
Cinchona pubescens
Isertia pittieri
MUS
Mussaenda pinatubensis
MUS
Heinsia zanzibarica
CON
Warszewiczia coccinea
Ixora coccinea
IXO
VAN
Canthium coromandelicum
Tarenna neurophylla
PAV
ALB
Alberta magna
Coffea eugenioides
COF
GAR
Euclinia longiflora
Hekistocarpa minutiflora
VIR
VIR
Virectaria multiflora
Virectaria procumbens
VIR
VIR
Tamridaea capsulifera
Ecpoma hierniana
Sabicea angolensis
Sabicea discolor
Sabicea diversifolia
Sabicea congensis
Sabicea ingrata
Sabicea johnstonii
Sabicea xanthotricha
Sabicea harleyae
Sabicea mexicana
Sabicea gilletii
Sabicea orientalis
Sabicea rosea
Sabicea capitellata
Pseudosabicea aurifodinae
Pseudosabicea medusula
Pseudosabicea segregata
Pseudosabicea nobilis
Pseudosabicea proselyta
Pseudosabicea arborea
Schizostigma hirsutum
Stipularia elliptica
Sabicea aspera
Sabicea chocoana
Sabicea glabrescens
Sabicea humilis
Sabicea panamensis
Sabicea amazonensis
Sabicea grisea
Sabicea villosa
Fig. 1. Strict consensus tree generated from 8,067 equally parsimonious trees based on the phylogenetic analysis of the
trnT-F data. The numbers above the branches represent bootstrap support values ( > 50%) and those below the branches
Bayesian posterior probabilities ( > 0.95). ALB, Alberteae; COF, Coffeeae; CON, Condamineeae; GAR, Gardenieae; IXO,
Ixoreae; MUS, Mussaendeae; PAV, Pavetteae; VAN, Vanguerieae; VIR, Virectarieae. Brackets delimit the three subfamilies
(sensu Bremer & al., 1999), Sabiceeae s.l., and Sabiceeae s.str. The genera shown in boldface belong to Sabiceeae sensu
Andersson (1996).
6
Khan & al. • Tribal and generic circumscriptions of Sabiceeae
TAXON 57 (1) • February 2008: 1–17
52
70
1.00
100
1.00
83
0.98
99
1.00
97
1.00 59
99
1.00
100
1.00
Sabicea s.l.
100
1.00
75
63
65
100
1.00
78
58
100
1.00
98
1.00 65
72
1.00
85
1.00
63
100
1.00
85
1.00
VIRECTARIEAE
Neotropical Sabicea
90
1.00
VIRECTARIEAE
SABICEEAE s.l.
88
1.00
Outgroup
SABICEEAE s.str.
67
0.97
Canthium coromandelicum
Ixora coccinea
Warszewiczia coccinea
Heinsia zanzibarica
LG
Hekistocarpa minutiflora
SOC
Tamridaea capsulifera
UG
Virectaria multiflora
UG
Virectaria procumbens
Stipularia elliptica
CO
Pseudosabicea arborea 1 LV
Pseudosabicea arborea 2 LV
Pseudosabicea mildbraedii LG
Pseudosabicea aurifodinae LG
Pseudosabicea medusula LG
Pseudosabicea batesii
LG
Sabicea xanthotricha
LG
Sabicea brevipes
UG/S
Sabicea dewevrei
LG
Stipularia efulenensis
LG
CO
Sabicea gilletii
LG
Sabicea najatrix
LG
Sabicea caminata
Sabicea dinklagei
ZA
Sabicea speciosa
LG
Schizostigma hirsutum
SL
Sabicea johnstonii
LG
Sabicea capitellata
LG
Sabicea ingrata
STP
UG
Sabicea ferruginea
LG
Sabicea congensis
Sabicea fulva
LG
Sabicea rosea
UG
Sabicea exellii
STP
Sabicea thomensis
STP
LG
Ecpoma hierniana
UG
Sabicea harleyae
UG
Sabicea vogelii
MAD
Sabicea diversifolia
Sabicea seua
MAD
Pseudosabicea segregata LG
LG
Pseudosabicea nobilis
Pseudosabicea proselyta LG
UG
Sabicea discolor
LG
Sabicea angolensis
SM
Sabicea orientalis
CO
Sabicea venosa
Sabicea amazonensis
Sabicea aspera
Sabicea sp.
Sabicea chocoana
Sabicea cinerea
Sabicea humilis
Sabicea mattogrossensis
Sabicea mexicana
Sabicea panamensis
Sabicea grisea
Sabicea glabrescens
Sabicea venezuelensis
Sabicea pyramidalis
Sabicea villosa 1
Sabicea villosa 2
Fig. 2. Strict consensus tree generated from 210 equally parsimonious trees based on the phylogenetic analysis of the ITS
data. The numbers above the branches represent bootstrap support values ( > 50%) and those below the branches Bayesian posterior probabilities ( > 0.95). Brackets delimit the outgroup taxa, Sabiceeae s.l., Sabiceeae s.str., and Neotropical
Sabicea. Vertical bars delimit the genera of Virectarieae sensu Dessein & al. (2001a). CO, Congolian; LG, Lower-Guinean;
LV, Lake Victorian; MAD, Madagascan; SL, Sri Lankan (Indian); SM, Somali-Masai; SOC, Socotran (Yemen); STP, São
Tomean; UG, Upper-Guinean; UG/S, Upper-Guinean/Sudanian; ZA, Zambezian (African phytochoria; White, 1979, 1993).
The phytogeographic data are mentioned only for the sampled African specimens. Sequenced species of Ecpoma, Pseudosabicea, Schizostigma, and Stipularia are shown in boldface. All shadowed taxa are from mainland Africa.
7
Khan & al. • Tribal and generic circumscriptions of Sabiceeae
100
1.00 99
1.00 100
1.00
100
1.00
77
1.00
100
1.00
Sabicea s.l.
100
1.00
100
1.00 59
99
1.00
65
0.99
59
1.00
53
0.97
0.97
80
1.00
100
1.00
77
100
1.00
83
1.00
80
75
1.00
87
1.00
53
68
99
1.00
82
1.00 68
0.98
VIRECTARIEAE
VIRECTARIEAE
Neotropical Sabicea
74
0.99
Outgroup
SABICEEAE s.l.
69
0.99
Canthium coromandelicum
Ixora coccinea
Warszewiczia coccinea
Heinsia zanzibarica
LG
Hekistocarpa minutiflora
UG
Virectaria multiflora
UG
Virectaria procumbens
CO
Stipularia elliptica
Pseudosabicea arborea 1
LV
Pseudosabicea arborea 2
LV
Pseudosabicea mildbraedii LG
Pseudosabicea aurifodinae LG
Pseudosabicea medusula LG
Pseudosabicea batesii
LG
Sabicea xanthotricha
LG
UG/S
Sabicea brevipes
Sabicea caminata
LG
LG
Sabicea dewevrei
ZA
Sabicea dinklagei
LG
Stipularia efulenensis
UG
Sabicea ferruginea
CO
Sabicea gilletii
LG
Sabicea najatrix
Sabicea congensis
LG
Sabicea fulva
LG
Sabicea diversifolia
MAD
Sabicea seua
MAD
Sabicea speciosa
LG
Schizostigma hirsutum
SL
Sabicea johnstonii
LG
LG
Sabicea capitellata
STP
Sabicea ingrata
Sabicea rosea
UG
STP
Sabicea exellii
STP
Sabicea thomensis
LG
Ecpoma hierniana
UG
Sabicea harleyae
Sabicea vogelii
UG
Pseudosabicea segregata LG
Pseudosabicea nobilis
LG
Pseudosabicea proselyta
LG
Sabicea discolor
UG
Sabicea angolensis
LG
Sabicea orientalis
SM
CO
Sabicea venosa
Sabicea mexicana
Sabicea aspera
Sabicea sp.
Sabicea chocoana
Sabicea cinerea
Sabicea mattogrossensis
Sabicea panamensis
Sabicea grisea
Sabicea amazonensis
Sabicea humilis
Sabicea glabrescens
Sabicea venezuelensis
Sabicea pyramidalis
Sabicea villosa 1
Sabicea villosa 2
SABICEEAE s.str.
0.98
100
1.00
74
TAXON 57 (1) • February 2008: 1–17
Fig. 3. Strict consensus tree generated from 104,428 equally parsimonious trees based on the phylogenetic analysis of
the ITS-trnT-F data. The numbers above the branches represent bootstrap support values ( > 50%) and those below the
branches Bayesian posterior probabilities ( > 0.95). Brackets delimit the outgroup taxa, Sabiceeae s.l., Sabiceeae s.str.,
and Neotropical Sabicea. Vertical bars indicate the position of the genera of Virectarieae sensu Dessein & al. (2001a). CO,
Congolian; LG, Lower-Guinean; LV, Lake Victorian; MAD, Madagascan; SL, Sri Lankan (Indian); SM, Somali-Masai; STP, São
Tomean; UG, Upper-Guinean; UG/S, Upper-Guinean/Sudanian; ZA, Zambezian (African phytochoria; White, 1979, 1993). The
phytogeographic data are mentioned only for the sampled African specimens. Sequenced species of Ecpoma, Pseudosabicea, Schizostigma, Stipularia, and Tamridaea are shown in boldface. All shadowed taxa are from mainland Africa.
8
TAXON 57 (1) • February 2008: 1–17
as sister to a weakly supported (BS = 63) and Sabicea
dominated clade formed by Stipularia efulenensis, all
studied species of Ecpoma, Sabicea and Schizostigma
and the other Pseudosabicea clade (containing P. segregata (Hiern) N. Hallé, P. nobilis, and P. proselyta
N. Hallé). Furthermore, two investigated Malagasy (S.
diversifolia Pers. and S. seua Wernham) and two São
Tomean Sabicea species (S. exellii G. Taylor and S. thomensis Joffroy) formed strongly supported (BS = 100, PP
= 1.00) groups, respectively. Another São Tomean Sabicea (S. ingrata K. Schum.) formed an unsupported group
with two continental African Sabicea (S. johnstonii K.
Schum. and S. capitellata). Similarly, all sequenced Neotropical Sabicea formed a weakly supported (BS = 63)
clade in the MPA. These three clades were nested within
the largely African Pseudosabicea-Sabicea-StipulariaSchizostigma-Ecpoma clade.
Combined nrITS-trnT-F analyses (Fig. 3). —
Each of the nrITS and trnT-F partitions used in the combined analyses contained a total of 60 sequences including 55 new sequences. All of the 55 new sequences of
nrITS partition were used in the nrITS analyses and 32
new sequences of trnT-F partition were used in the trnTF analyses. The MPA of the combined nrITS + trnT-F
matrix, composed of a total of 2,597 positions and 344
(13.24%) parsimony-informative characters (Table 2),
generated 104,428 equally parsimonious trees (L = 714,
Cl = 0.674, RI = 0.796). The overall tree topologies and
support values of the resolved nodes in the strict consensus combined tree (Fig. 3) were largely similar to those
of the strict consensus nrITS tree (Fig. 2). The support
values in the combined tree were higher for some nodes
(e.g., the Neotropical Sabicea clade and the Sabicea
speciosa-Schizostigma hirsutum clade). The poorly supported (BS = 58) sister-group relationships between the
Malagasy Sabicea clade (S. diversifolia, S. seua) and the
Pseudosabicea clade formed by P. segregata, P. nobilis
and P. proselyta (Fig. 2) collapsed in the combined tree
(Fig. 3). Plus, the monophyletic group of one São Tomean
Sabicea (S. ingrata) and two continental African Sabicea (S. johnstonii and S. capitellata), unsupported in the
nrITS tree, was weakly (BS = 53) or strongly (PP = 0.97)
supported in the combined tree.
DISCUSSION
Firstly, we compare the sequence characteristics between the nrITS and trnT-F sequences of Sabiceeae and
those of the some other rubiaceous tribes (e.g., Naucleeae
s.l., Mussaendeae, and Vanguerieae). Secondly, we discuss
the new tribal circumscription of Sabiceeae, proposed in
the light of our results. Accordingly, we propose the new
circumscriptions for the genera of the tribe. Thirdly, we
Khan & al. • Tribal and generic circumscriptions of Sabiceeae
assess the biogeography of our newly delimited Sabicea
s.l. and finally provide the updated description for Sabicea
s.l. and make six new combinations.
Sequence characteristics. — Both the ranges of
lengths (Table 2) and the average lengths of nrITS1 and
nrITS2 of Sabiceeae taxa fall within the records for other
angiosperms (Baldwin & al., 1995; Noyes, 2006). The
constant length of 5.8S subunit is consistent with the reports for other Rubiaceae (e.g., Alejandro & al., 2005)
and close to those for other angiosperms (Baldwin & al.,
1995). The records of GC contents in nrITS1 and nrITS2
of Sabiceeae taxa coincide with the reports for Rubiaceae
(Razafimandimbison & Bremer, 2001; Alejandro & al.,
2005) and other angiosperms (Tate & al., 2005). The total
lengths of the nrITS region of Sabiceeae (566–599 bp)
are nearly similar to those of Mussaendeae sensu Bremer
& Thulin (1998) (570–596 bp; Alejandro & al., 2005),
shorter than those reported for the tribe Vanguerieae
(611–671 bp; Lantz & Bremer, 2004), and fall within the
known range for other Ixoroideae (565–654 bp; Andreasen & al., 1999). The parsimony informative characters
(PIC) for the nrITS region of Sabiceeae (157) are higher
than those reported for Mussaendeae (103; Alejandro &
al., 2005) and other Ixoroideae tribe Gardenieae A. Rich.
ex DC. (e.g., 121 for the Alibertia group; Persson, 2000).
On the other hand, they are lower than the PIC recorded
for Vanguerieae (188; Lantz & Bremer, 2004) and the
Cinchonoidae tribe Naucleeae s.l. (210; Razafimandimbison & Bremer, 2002). So, there is a great variation of
the lengths of nrITS regions and eventually the number of
parsimony informative characters between the different
rubiaceous tribes.
The range of the lengths of the trnT-F region of Sabiceeae (1574–1688 bp) coincides with the records for Mussaendeae sensu Bremer & Thulin (1998) (1662–1793 bp;
Alejandro & al. 2005) and Vanguerieae (1559–1785 bp;
Lantz & Bremer, 2004) but is shorter than that of Naucleeae s.l. (1707–1785 bp; Razafimandimbison & Bremer,
2002). The lengths of the trnT-F region of the studied
Sabiceeae are 2.8 times longer than those of their nrITS
region. In contrast, the trnT-F region of the sequenced
Sabiceeae is less informative (11.63%) than their nrITS
region (23.43%), concurring with Liede & Kunze (2002),
Razafimandimbison & Bremer (2002), and Alejandro &
al. (2005). In the trnT-F matrix, the trnT-L spacer (684–788
bp) is more variable than trnL-F spacer (268–324 bp), also
consistent with Razafimandimbison & Bremer (2002),
but our record of the trnL intron as more variable than
the trnL-F spacer (Table 2) is inconsistent with their reports. The variations shown by the nrITS, trnT-L, trnL
and trnL-F regions further indicate their usefulness for
assessing the phylogenetic relationships in Rubiaceae
and other families in the order Gentianales (e.g., Meve
& Liede, 2002).
9
Khan & al. • Tribal and generic circumscriptions of Sabiceeae
Tribal circumscriptions of Sabiceeae. — The
polyphyly of Sabiceeae sensu Andersson (1996), which
includes Amphidasya, currently classified by Bremer &
Manen (2000) in the tribe Urophylleae Bremek. ex Verdc.
(Rubioideae), and Acranthera, recently shown by Alejandro & al. (2005) to be associated with Rubioideae, is
further corroborated by the trnT-F tree (Fig. 1), as both
Pentaloncha and Temnopteryx are also resolved with high
support (BS = 100, PP = 1.00) in Rubioideae. This is the
first molecular phylogenetic study to include these African
rubiaceous monotypic genera. We find no support either
for the close relationships of Temnopteryx and Pentaloncha with Ecpoma, Pseudosabicea, Sabicea, and Stipularia
postulated, respectively, by Puff & al. (1998) and Dessein
& al. (2001a) or Hiern’s (1877) attempt to merge both Pentaloncha and Temnopteryx with Schizostigma (= Sabicea;
Puff & al., 1998). The combined nrITS + trnT-F tree (Fig.
3) shows that Sabiceeae sensu Bremer & Thulin (1998)
is not monophyletic, unless Ecpoma, Hekistocarpa, and
Schizostigma are also included. Dessein & al. (2001a) tentatively included Pentaloncha in Sabiceeae s.str. based on
morphological grounds. But our results strongly support
the exclusion of Pentaloncha from Sabiceeae.
Our results clearly favour a broad circumscription
of Sabiceeae, which should include the following eight
genera: Ecpoma, Hekistocarpa, Pseudosabicea, Sabicea, Schizostigma, Stipularia, Tamridaea, and Virectaria
(Figs. 1–2), consistent with Robbrecht & Manen (2006). In
all our parsimony and Bayesian analyses, we perceive no
support for the monophyly of Virectarieae sensu Dessein
& al. (2001a), as Hekistocarpa, Virectaria, and Tamridaea
(Figs. 1–2) or Hekistocarpa and Virectaria (Fig. 3) never
form a clade, and therefore, its tribal status is untenable.
For the same reason our results do not support the new
subtribal classification of Sabiceeae (Sabiceinae and Virectariinae) by Robbrecht & Manen (2006). The discrepancies between our results and the rbcL or rps16 trees of
Dessein & al. (2001a) are probably due to taxon sampling.
In the rbcL tree of Dessein & al. (2001a), Sabiceeae, represented by one Sabicea species, is weakly resolved as sister
to the strongly supported (BS = 87) Virectarieae sensu
Dessein & al. (2001a). In their rps16 tree, the support for
Virectarieae, represented by Hekistokarpa and Virectaria,
is weak (BS = 59), while that of Sabiceeae s.str., represented by four Sabicea and two Pseudosabicea species, is
high (BS = 87). In other words, the support for the monophyly of Virectarieae sensu Dessein & al. (2001a) seems to
decrease when more species from Sabiceeae are included
in the rps16 analysis. This is further confirmed by our ITS
and combined nrITS + trnT-F analyses (Figs. 2–3), which
contain a much larger sampling of Sabiceeae s.str. (51 species of Ecpoma, Pseudosabicea, Sabicea, Schizostigma,
and Stipularia), in which Virectarieae sensu Dessein &
al. (2001a) totally collapse. The Sabiceeae s.l. clade of our
10
TAXON 57 (1) • February 2008: 1–17
trnT-F tree (Fig. 1) is largely congruent with that of the
nrITS (Fig. 2) and the combined nrITS + trnT-F trees (Fig.
3), with the exception of the position of Tamridaea.
We were unable to include the Neotropical genus Pittierothamnus (Steyermark, 1962) due to lack of material.
Therefore, its phylogenetic position in Sabiceeae postulated by Andersson (1996) has yet to be tested with molecular-based phylogenies. We have not been able to find any
potential morphological synapomorphy to diagnose our
newly delimited Sabiceeae s.l. Therefore, the monophyly
of the tribe is entirely based on molecular data.
Generic circumscriptions in Sabiceeae s.l. —
Our newly circumscribed Sabiceeae contains the following four genera: Hekistocarpa, Sabicea s.l. (including
Ecpoma, Pseudosabicea, Schizostigma, and Stipularia),
Tamridaea, and Virectaria, and a total of ca. 180 species.
The monotypic genus Hekistocarpa is restricted to
Cameroon and Nigeria (Dessein & al 2001a: Fig. 37). This
genus can be characterized by the following characters:
herbaceous growth habit, lateral scorpioid cymes, laterally
compressed fruits, exotesta cells with strongly thickened
walls, tuberculate surface and one perforation, and tricolpate pollens (Dessein & al. 2001a). Hekistocarpa was
classified for a long time in the tribe Hedyotideae Cham.
& Schltdl. ex DC. (Rubioideae) because of its herbaceous
habit, scorpioid inflorescences and many-seeded fruits
(Hooker, 1873b). The study of Dessein & al. (2001a) is
the first to place Hekistocarpa in Virectarieae. All the
trnT-F, nrITS and combined nrITS + trnT-F trees (Figs.
1–3) strongly (BS = 100, PP = 1.00) favour its placement
in Sabiceeae s.l. Furthermore, Hekistocarpa is resolved as
sister to the rest of Sabiceeae s.l. (e.g., Fig. 2) and therefore,
its current generic status should be maintained.
All nrITS and combined analyses (Figs. 2–3) indicate
that Sabicea sensu Wernham (1914) including S. hierniana
Wernham (= Ecpoma hierniana (Wernham) N. Hallé & F.
Hallé), S. segregata Wernham (= Pseudosabicea segregata),
and S. nobilis R. Good (= Pseudosabicea nobilis) is only
monophyletic if Pseudosabicea proselyta, Schizostigma,
and Stipularia efulenensis are also included. The African
genus Stipularia appears polyphyletic, as the two sequenced
species, S. elliptica and S. efulenensis, are resolved in two
separate clades (Figs. 2–3). The type species S. africana is
not included in the present study, so the generic status of
Stipularia could still be maintained if it turns out that S.
africana forms a clade with S. elliptica. On the other hand,
our results indicate that the generic concept of Stipularia
based mainly on the presence of the large campanulate involucral bracts subtending the entire inflorescence is untenable, as the two sequenced Stipularia species bearing
the same type of the involucral bracts (Hepper, 1958) do
not form a clade. Plus, Hepper (1958: 289–291) convincingly explained that the involucral bracts of some African
Sabicea species show a great range of the degree of fusion
Khan & al. • Tribal and generic circumscriptions of Sabiceeae
TAXON 57 (1) • February 2008: 1–17
(from inconspicuous to distinct and totally free to partly or
completely fused bracts). Also, Hallé (1966) showed that
some African Sabicea species (e.g., Sabicea duparquetiana H. Baillon ex Wernham and S. najatrix N. Hallé) have
large and partly fused campanulate involucral bracts. Based
on the above evidence presented we concur with Hepper’s
(1958) decision to merge Stipularia with Sabicea.
Our analyses further reveal the polyphyly of Sabicea sensu Hallé (1963), as Ecpoma, represented by E.
hierniana, Pseudosabicea, represented by P. segregata,
P. nobilis, and P. proselyta, and Schizostigma are all resolved in the largely Sabicea clade with weak and high
support (e.g., BS = 59, PP = 1.00; Fig. 3), respectively, in
the MPA and BA. Similarly, Pseudosabicea sensu Hallé
(1963) is also shown to be para- or polyphyletic, as the
sequenced Pseudosabicea species group in two separate
clades (Figs. 2–3). Accordingly, we merge Pseudosabicea
with Sabicea. The range of variation in the characters
of Sabicea includes the diagnostic characters of Pseudosabicea sensu Hallé (1963). One could recognize the
strongly supported clade of five Pseudosabicea species
at generic level; however, we find no distinctive morphological character for diagnosing this clade, once P.
nobilis, P. proselyta, and P. segregata were included in
Sabicea.
The African genus Ecpoma (Schumann, 1896) is
comprised of six species and characterized by its shrubby
habit, isophylly, colourless pulp of small fruits, bilocular
ovaries, non-accrescent septa, rounded or twisted to peltate placentae (Hallé, 1963). Ecpoma was traditionally
classified in Mussaendeae (Hallé, 1961; Hallé, 1963, 1966)
or in Sabiceeae (Andersson, 1996; Robbrecht & Manen,
2006). In Andersson’s (1996) study, Ecpoma did not form
a monophyletic group with Pseudosabicea, Sabicea, and
Schizostigma. In our nrITS and nrITS + trnT-F trees (Figs.
2–3), Ecpoma, represented by E. hierniana, however, is
consistently and deeply nested within the PseudosabiceaSabicea-Stipularia-Schizostigma-Ecpoma clade, inconsistent with Hallé (1961), Hallé (1963) and Andersson (1996).
Accordingly, we merge Ecpoma with Sabicea even if the
type species is not included in our analyses because its
character states clearly fall within the range of variation
in Sabicea s.l.
Adopting the broadened circumscription of Sabicea
including Ecpoma, Pseudosabicea, Schizostigma, and
Stipularia requires only a maximum of six new combinations, as five of the six Ecpoma species (Hallé, 1963)
and 8 of the 13 Pseudosabicea species (Hallé, 1963,
1966) were originally described as Sabicea (Wernham,
1914; Good, 1923). Plus, all five Stipularia species and
Table 3. Morphological distinctive characters of Hekistocarpa, Sabicea s.l., Tamridaea, and Virectaria.
Characters
Hekistocarpa
Sabicea s.l.
Habit
Herbs
Lianas, vines, straggling to scram- Shrubs (ca. 1 m tall)
bling herbs, scandent or erect
shrubs (up to 4 m tall), rarely
small trees
Herbs
Inflorescence position and types
Axillary, scorpioid
cymes
Axillary, fasciculate or densely
capitulate to paniculate or thyrsoid, simple to compound dichasial cymes or solitary flowers
Terminal, usually
dichasial corymbose
cymes
Terminal, dichasial
thyrsoid to monochasial or simple cymes
Flower types
Homostylous
Hetero- and homostylous
Heterostylous
Homostylous
Corolla aestivation
Reduplicate valvate
True valvate
Reduplicate valvate
True valvate
Corolla lobes
Ovate to deltoid with Ovate with (sub-) acute apices
(sub-) acute apices
Obcordate corolla
Lanceolate to deltoid
lobes with emargin- with (sub-) acute
ate-mucronate apices apices
Anther fixation and
position
Dorsimedifixed,
included
Dorsimedifixed, included (shortstyled flowers) and slightly
exserted (long-styled flowers)
Dorsifixed, included Dorsimedifixed,
(short-styled flowers) exserted
and slightly exserted
(long-styled flowers)
Stigma branches
2, filiform
2–5(6), filiform to oblong or very
narrowly elliptic or oblanceolate
to widely spathulate or dilated
2, filiform-oblong
No. of locules per
ovary
Tamridaea
Virectaria
Initially 2, eventually
truncated, spherical
ca. 10
2–5(7)
2
2
Fruit types
Dry, indehiscent or
tardily dehiscent
Indehiscent berries
Dry, dehiscent capsules
Dry, dehiscent
capsules with one
caduceus valve
Pollen type
3-colporate
3–4-colporate
4-colporate
3-colporate
11
Khan & al. • Tribal and generic circumscriptions of Sabiceeae
Schizostigma have already been merged, respectively, by
Hepper (1958) and Puff & al. (1998) in Sabicea. Sabicea
s.l. is very distinct from the other three genera (Hekistocarpa, Tamridaea, Virectaria) of Sabiceeae s.l. in some
aspects (see Table 3).
All our nrITS and combined nrITS + trnT-F analyses
contradict the monophyly of Wernham’s (1914) two subgenera of Sabicea based on habit and leaf and stipule sizes. The
two sequenced species of Sabicea subgen. Stipulariopsis
(Sabicea xanthotricha Wernham and S. hierniana Wernham
[= Ecpoma hierniana]) do not form a clade. The sequenced
species of Sabicea subgen. Eusabicea (e.g., S. batesii Wernham [= P. batesii], S. mildbraedii [= P. mildbraedii], S.
segregata [= P. segregata], S. seua, S. speciosa K. Schum.,
S. vogelii Benth., S. angolensis Wernham, S. discolor Stapf,
S. venosa Benth., and S. hirsuta H.B. & K. [= S. villosa
Willd. ex Roem. & Schult.], etc.) do not form a clade unless Pseudosabicea (P. arborea (K. Schum.) N. Hallé and
P. proselyta), Sabicea subgen. Stipulariopsis, Stipularia
efulenensis, and Schizostigma are also included.
New molecular phylogenetic investigations using multiple markers and a much broader sampling of Ecpoma,
Pseudosabicea, Stipularia, and Sabicea will be performed
in attempt to establish, if possible, new infrageneric classifications for our newly delimited Sabicea with ca. 170
species and also address some evolutionary questions.
The monotypic genus Tamridaea, endemic to Socotra
(Yemen), is characterized by its shrubby habit, reduplicate-valvate aestivation, terminal cymes, flat, ± obcordate
corolla lobes with emarginate-mucronate apices, bilobed
stigma, bilocular ovaries (Bremer & Thulin, 1998), exotesta cells with verrucose thickenings, and 4-colporate
pollens (Dessein & al., 2001a). Bremer & Thulin (1998)
originally described Tamridaea to accommodate Pseudomussaenda capsulifera (Balf. f.) Wernham, previously
classified in Isertieae sensu Robbrecht (1988), and placed
it in their Sabiceeae s.l. Dessein & al. (2001b) accept the
generic status of Tamridaea and its placement in Sabiceeae sensu Bremer & Thulin (1998), though Dessein &
al. (2001a) placed the genus in their emended Virectarieae.
Tamridaea has conflicting positions in our results. In our
trnT-F tree (Fig. 1), it is moderately (BS = 80) and highly
(PP = 1.00) resolved, respectively, as sister to Sabiceeae
s.str. in the MPA and BA analyses. In the nrITS tree, the
genus and Virectaria form a moderately to highly (BS
= 70, PP = 1.00; Fig. 2) supported clade, consistent with
Bremer & Thulin (1998) and Dessein & al. (2001a). When
included in a combined nrITS + trnT-F analysis Tamridaea
is weakly resolved (BS = 58) as sister to Virectaria.
The tropical African genus Virectaria comprises eight
species, of which three species (V. major K. Schum., V.
multiflora, V. procumbens) are Guineo-Congolian wide
(Dessein & al., 2001b), while four species (V. herbacoursi
N. Hallé, V. belingana N. Hallé, V. salicoides (C.H. Wright)
12
TAXON 57 (1) • February 2008: 1–17
Bremek., V. angustifolia (Hiern) Bremek.) are endemic
to one of the domains of the Guineo-Congolian region
(White, 1979), Lower Guinea and V. tenella J.B. Hall to
Upper Guinea (Dessein & al. 2001a: Figs. 69–70). The genus can be characterized by its herbaceous to semi-woody
habits, terminal inflorescences, truncated stigmas, flat
trichomes of the corolla orifice or inside the corolla tubes,
elongated floral disc, one persistent and one deciduous
valve during fruit dehiscence, and exotesta cells of seeds
with many small perforations (Dessein & al., 2001a). Our
results support the placement of Virectaria in Ixoroideae
s.l., also consistent with Bremer & Thulin (1998) and Dessein & al. (2001a) but inconsistent with Bremekamp (1952,
1966) who classified the genus in the tribe Ophiorrhizeae
of his Cinchonoideae, and Verdcourt (1975) who placed
it in Cinchonoideae as a monogeneric tribe Virectarieae.
In both nrITS and combined nrITS + trnT-F trees (Figs.
2–3), Virectaria is strongly (BS = 100, PP = 1.00) resolved
as a monophyletic group, which is moderately supported
as sister to Tamridaea (Fig. 2), consistent with Dessein &
al. (2001a) and Robbrecht & Manen (2006). However, our
results are inconsistent with the placement of the genus
pair and Hekistokarpa in a separate tribe Virectarieae
(Dessein & al. 2001a) or subtribe Virectariinae (Robbrecht
& Manen, 2006). Tamridaea and Virectaria are morphologically distinct (see Table 3) and therefore, their generic
status can be maintained.
Biogeography of Sabicea s.l. — We are unable
to perform a proper biogeographic analysis, because the
clade of Sabiceeae s.str. is largely unresolved in all trees
(Fig. 1–3). However, some biogeographical facts can be
discussed for Sabicea s.l. The combined tree (Fig. 3) shows
that neither the Upper-Guinean, nor the Lower-Guinean,
nor the Congolian (White, 1976; Robbrecht, 1996) Sabicea
species form a monophyletic group, and in contrast, the
species of different phytogeographical regions (e.g., Lake
Victoria and Lower-Guinea or Somali-Masai and Congolia; White, 1976, 1993) form highly supported clades.
These results indicate that Sabicea species of these phytogeographical domains and regions are not closely related
and there seem to be several dispersal events of Sabicea
species between them.
The volcanic Island of São Tomé (Deruelle & al., 1991;
Munhá & al., 2002) has three endemic Sabicea species
(S. exellii, S. ingrata, S. thomensis; Joffroy, 2001), which
are consistently nested in the almost continental African
Sabicea clade (Figs. 2–3). One São Tomean Sabicea species (S. ingrata) groups together with the Lower-Guinean
S. capitellata and S. johnstonii, and the other two São
Tomean species (S. ingrata, S. thomensis) group with the
Upper-Guinean S. rosea Hoyle (Fig. 3). These results indicate that the São Tomean species must have had two
African ancestors, which appear to have reached the island
via two independent dispersal events. Similarly, the two
TAXON 57 (1) • February 2008: 1–17
sequenced Malagasy species of Sabicea, S. diversifolia
and S. seua (Razafimandimbison & Miller, 1999), form
a highly supported (BS = 100, PP = 1.00) clade, which is
nested in the large Sabicea clade. No record of Sabicea s.l.
is known from the neighbouring Islands of Madagascar.
Madagascar is about 400 km off the southwestern coast
of Mozambique, whereas São Tomé & Príncipe are only
within 225 to 250 km off of the northwestern coast of
Gabon. All sequenced Sabicea species of the Neotropics
form a moderately supported (BS = 74) clade in the MPA
and a highly supported (PP = 0.99) clade in the BA (Fig. 3),
indicating a single origin of all Neotropical Sabicea. The
Neotropical Sabicea additionally appear to have originated from an African common ancestor.
Furthermore, our data (Fig. 3) indicate that the African common ancestors of the Malagasy, São Tomean,
and Neotropical Sabicea, respectively, most likely reached
Madagascar, São Tomé, and the Neotropics through four
independent dispersal events either via wind and/or ocean
currents or dispersal of seeds across the Mozambique
Channel, the Gulf of Guinea, and the South Atlantic
Ocean by birds. Sabicea s.l. produce fleshy and (sub-)
globose or obovoid berries bearing many small seeds,
which would presumably provide an important source
of food for tropical frugivorous birds. This seems to favour a zoochorous mode of dispersal (but see Renner,
2004). The fact that the Neotropics and São Tomé do not
share in common any Sabicea species seems to exclude
stepping-stone long-distance dispersal (i.e., dispersal from
the mainland Africa to the Neotropics via São Tomé) as
the mode of dispersal responsible for the present transAtlantic distribution of Sabicea s.l. Our results (Fig. 3)
further indicate that four African Sabicea species (S. angolensis, S. discolor, S. orientalis Wernham, S. venosa)
are more closely related to each other than they are to the
remaining Sabicea s.l. Plus, they appear to be most closely
related to the Neotropical Sabicea, also consistent with
morphological grounds. It is, however, important to note
that these four African Sabicea species are presently either
restricted to a domain of Guineo-Congolian region (e.g.,
S. angolensis and S. discolor occur in Lower- and Upper
Guinea, repectively) or dispersed to two to three phytogeographical regions (e.g., S. orientalis occurs in GuineoCongolian, Zambezian and Somalia-Masai region, and S.
venosa in Guineo-Congolian and Lake Victoria regions;
White, 1993).
Finally, Sabicea s.l. seems to have started to diversify
in mainland Africa, where at least 106 species are presently known. A second major radiation of Sabicea appears
to have occurred after the group began to colonize the
Neotropics. The occurrence of the single Asian species
Sabicea ceylanica (restricted to Sri Lanka) indicates that
the genus seems to have failed to disperse to the rest of
Asia.
Khan & al. • Tribal and generic circumscriptions of Sabiceeae
CONCLUSIONS
The present phylogenetic analyses favour a broad circumscription of Sabiceeae, which includes the following
four genera: Hekistocarpa, Sabicea s.l. (including Ecpoma,
Pseudosabicea, Schizostigma, and Stipularia), Tamridaea,
and Virectaria. Pentaloncha and Temnopteryx belong to
subfamily Rubioideae. Sabiceeae sensu Bremer & Thulin
(1998) is not monophyletic, unless Ecpoma, Hekistocarpa,
and Schizostigma are also included. Virectarieae sensu
Dessein & al. (2001a) appears to be para- or polyphyletic.
Dessein & al.’s (2001a) Sabiceeae and Robbrecht & Manen’s
(2006) subtribal classification of Sabiceeae are not supported by our results. Sabicea sensu Wernham (1914) is
monophyletic only if Pseudosabicea proselyta, Stipularia
efulenensis and Schizostigma are included. Finally, our
analyses support the monophyly of Malagasy and Neotropical Sabicea, but not of Sabicea and Pseudosabicea
both sensu Hallé (1963, 1966) and Stipularia. Our results
indicate several dispersal events of Sabicea species between
few African phytogeographical domains and regions. The
São Tomean, Malagasy, Asian and Neotropical species of
Sabicea all appear to have had African origins and perhaps
dispersed via four independent dispersal events.
TAXONOMIC IMPLICATIONS
Sabicea Aubl. Hist. Pl. Guiane Françoise 1: 192, t. 75. JunDec 1775 – Lectotype: S. cinerea Aubl. designated
by P.C. Standley, N. Amer. Fl. 32: 148. 10 May 1921.
PHAN.-RUBIACEAE (75/104).
= Cephaëlis Sw., Prodr. (Swartz) 3, 45 (‘Cephaelis’).
20 Jun-29 Jul 1788 (nom. cons.) – Type: C. muscosa
(Jacq.) Sw. ≡ Morinda muscosa Jacq. (typ. cons.).
= Paiva Vell., Fl. Flum.: 104. 7 Sep-28 Nov 1829 (‘1825’)
– Type: P. verticillata Vell.
= Stipularia P. Beauv., Fl. Owar. 2: 26. 1807 – Type: S.
africana P. Beauv. – Holotype: South Nigeria, Palisot
de Beauvois s.n. (G!), isotype (P, not seen) ≡ Sabicea
africana (P. Beauv.) Hepper.
= Ecpoma K. Schum., Bot. Jahrb. 23: 430. 1896, syn.
nov. – Type: E. apocynaceum K. Schum. – Holotype:
Cameroon, near Lolodorf, Staudt 204 (B, presumably
destroyed; K, photo!).
= Pseudosabicea N. Hallé, Adansonia ser 2, 3: 170.
1963, syn. nov. – Type: P. nobilis (R. Good) N. Hallé
≡ Sabicea nobilis R. Good – Syntypes: Angola, Belize, Maiombe, Gossweiler 7550, 7043 (BM, P).
= Schizostigma Arn. ex Meisn., Pl. Vasc. Gen. 1: 164; 2:
115. 1838 – Type: S. hirsutum Arn. ex Meisn. (holotype or syntypes not designated) ≡ Sabicea ceylanica
Puff.
13
Khan & al. • Tribal and generic circumscriptions of Sabiceeae
Schwenkfeldia Wild. (Sp. Pl. 4 [post Reichardianum
quinta]: 982. 1797) was described based on Schwenkfelda Schreb. (Gen. Pl. 1: 123. 1789), but the latter
was described based on Sabicea Aubl. Therefore,
Schwenk felda and Schwenkfeldia are illegitimate
names.
Lianas or woody vines, climbing or scrambling to
erect herbs, scandent to erect shrubs, rarely small trees,
stems rounded to shallowly quadrangular. Stipules interpetiolar, free, persistent, minute to vigorous, usually
entire, sometimes fimbriate to deeply laciniate, usually
with few to many colleters inside the base. Nodes isophyllous or anisophyllous. Leaves membranaceous to subcoriaceous. Inflorescences axillary, sessile to pedunculate,
solitary to compactly capitate to lax thyrsoid and few to
many flowered cymes, subtended by inconspicuous to
distinct and free to completely united and variously lobed
bracts with usually 2 to many colleters inside the base,
with or without forming spreaded to deeply campanulate
involucre, rarely followed by prophylls. Calyces shallowly
to deeply campanulate to funnel-shaped, 3–5-lobed, lobes
filiform to elliptic or obovate, antrorse to abruptly reflex,
usually with 1–2 colleters in or below each sinus. Corollas hypocrateriform or broadly infundibuliform, usually
white, occasionally pinkish, usually 5-lobed, lobes valvate, narrowly to widely ovate, margins entire, glabrous
or papillate inside, (sub-) acute at apex. Stamens included
to slightly exserted just beyond the corolla tubes, anthers
linear to narrowly oblong, basally and apically acute to
rounded, dehiscent by longitudinal slits, dorsifixed near
the middle by the very short free part of filiform filaments, attached to the upper part of corolla tubes. Pollens colporate to pororate, apertures 3 or 4, exine surface
minutely reticulate, released as monads. Styles filiform,
usually glabrous and included to slightly exserted just
beyond the corolla tubes, stigmatic lobes 2–5, filiform
to oblong or very narrowly elliptic or oblanceolate to
widely spathulate or dilated. Ovaries usually (sub-) globose, 2–7-locular with axile placentation and numerous
ovules per locule. Fruits (sub-) globose, indehiscent berries. Seeds minute, usually numerous, variously angular,
exotesta cells narrow and elongated, with few to many
rounded pits, radial wall with verrucose thickenings.
Indument of stem, branches, leaves, stipules, inflorescences, bracts, hypanthia and corolla tubes isolatedly
to densely puberulous to hirsute or pilose, strigose or
sericeous to villous, velutinous or arachnose and indument of corolla orifice or inside the corolla tubes usually
moniliform. The karyologically reported taxa are tetraploid with basic chromosome numbers x = 9 or 11 (Kiehn,
1995). Number of species: ca. 170 species (106 confined
to the African mainland, 54 restricted to the Neotropics,
6 endemic to Madagascar, 3 to São Tomé and Príncipe,
and 1 to Sri lanka).
14
TAXON 57 (1) • February 2008: 1–17
Sabicea s.l. can easily be distinguished from the other
three genera of Sabiceeae s.l. by the combination of the
following characters: axillary inflorescences usually
composed of few to many flowered fascicles or densely
capitulate to laxly paniculate cymes or solitary flowers, hypocrateriform or broadly infundibuliform corollas with ovate, (sub-) acute lobes, anthers and 2–6-lobed
stigmata usually included in the corolla tubes, moniliform
trichomes of corolla orifice or inside the corolla tubes,
and narrow to elongated exotesta cells of seeds, with few
to many rounded pits and verrucose thickenings on the
radial wall (see also Table 3).
New combinations
Sabicea apocynaceum (K. Schum.) Razafim., B. Bremer,
Liede & Khan, comb. nov. ≡ Ecpoma apocynaceum
K. Schum. in Bot. Jahrb. 23: 430. 1897 – Type: Cameroon, Lolodorf, Feb (fl.), Staudt 208 (holotype, B,
presumably destroyed; K, photo).
Sabicea aurifodinae (N. Hallé) Razafim., B. Bremer,
Liede & Khan, comb. nov. ≡ Pseudosabicea aurifodinae N. Hallé in Fl. Gabon 12: 201. 1966 – Type:
Gabon, Moubigou-2, au bout de la route de Massima
vers Moumba, région d’Etéké, N. Hallé & G. Cours
6137 (holotype, P).
Sabicea becquetii (N. Hallé) Razafim., B. Bremer, Liede
& Khan, comb. nov. ≡ Pseudosabicea becquetii N.
Hallé in Bull. Jard. Bot. État Bruxelles 34: 400. 1964
– Type: Burundi, Bururi chefferi Arawe-territoire, alt.
1,600 m, Becquet 115 (holotype, P; isotype, K).
Sabicea proselyta (N. Hallé) Razafim., B. Bremer, Liede
& Khan, comb. nov. ≡ Pseudosabicea proselyta N.
Hallé in Adansonia ser. 2, 3: 172. 1963 – Type: Gabon,
la Nkoulounga, 11 Jul 1959, N. Hallé 748 (holotype,
P).
Sabicea sanguinosa (N. Hallé) Razafim., B. Bremer,
Liede & Khan, comb. nov. ≡ Pseudosabicea sanguinosa N. Hallé in Adansonia ser. 2, 11: 313. 1971 –
Type: Gabon, environs de la Station forestière du Petit
Bam-Bam, 50 km SW de la base rivière Ramboué, au
sud de l’Estuaire, pays de savanes, 21 Aug 1966 (fl.),
N. Hallé & A. Le Thomas 573 (holotype, P).
Sabicea sthenula (N. Hallé) Razafim., B. Bremer, Liede
& Khan, comb. nov. ≡ Pseudosabicea sthenula N.
Hallé in Fl. Gabon 12: 208. 1966 – Type: Gabon, Makokou, 27 Feb 1961, N. Hallé 1339 (holotype, P).
TAXON 57 (1) • February 2008: 1–17
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank the curators of B, BM, BR, BRLU, F, G,
K, L, M, MO, NY, P, S, TAN, TEF, U, UPS, US, VEN, W, and
WAG for providing the loans and/or for permission to sample
herbarium collections; Jan Wieringa, for providing silica-gel
dried leaf samples; ANGAP (Association Nationale pour la
Gestion des Aires Protégées) and MEF (Ministère des Eaux
et Forêts, Madagascar) for issuing collecting permits for SGR;
Missouri Botanical Garden Program (Madagascar) for kindly
arranging collecting permits for SGR; Désiré Ravelonarivo
(ANGAP Andapa) for field assistance in the Marojejy National
Park, Madagascar; Elmar Robbrecht, Charlotte Taylor, Petra De
Block and Piero Delprete for their helpful suggestions; Angelika
Täuber and Anbar Khodabandeh for help with sequencing; and
Ulrich Meve, Andreas Jürgens, Stefan Dötterl, Heidi Döring,
and Grecebio D. Alejandro for their technical support. Funds for
this study were provided by the Swedish Research Council and
the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to BB and Jahangirnagar University and University of Bayreuth to SAK.
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Appendix. Voucher information and accession numbers for all species included in this study.
Species, country origins, voucher, trnT-F acc. no., ITS acc. no.
Alberta magna E. Mey., GenBank, AJ620118, – ; A. magna, GenBank, -, AJ224842; Canthium coromandelicum (Burm. f.) Alston,
GenBank, AJ847401, – ; C. coromandelicum, GenBank, -, AJ315081; Cinchona pubescens Vahl, GenBank, AJ346963, – ; Coffea
eugenioides S. Moore, GenBank, AJ847402, – ; Coussarea sp., GenBank, AF152612, – ; Danais xanthorrhoea (K. Schum.) Bremek.,
GenBank, AM409329, – ; Ecpoma hierniana (Wernham) N. Hallé & F. Hallé, Thompson 1803 (K), AM409140, AM409055; Euclinia
longiflora Salisb., GenBank, AJ847399, – ; Gynochthodes coriacea Blume, GenBank, AJ847407, – ; Heinsia zanzibarica (Boj.) Verdc.,
GenBank, AJ847377, AJ846880; Hekistocarpa minutiflora Hook. f., Cameroon, Sonké & al. 2708 (BR), AM409141, AM409056; Isertia pittieri (Standl.) Standl., GenBank, AJ847404, – ; Ixora coccinea L., GenBank, AJ620117, – ; I. coccinea, GenBank, -, AJ224826;
Luculia grandifolia Ghose, GenBank, AJ346929, – ; Mussaenda pinatubensis Elmer, GenBank, AJ847365, – ; Nauclea orientalis (L.)
L., GenBank, AJ346958, – ; Normandia neocaledonica Hook. f., New Caledonia, Munzinger 532 (MO), AM409177, – ; Ophiorrhiza
mungos L., GenBank, AF152610, – ; Pentaloncha humilis Hook. f. (2), Gabon, Wilde & al. 10235 (WAG), AM409173, – ; P. humilis
(1), Gabon, Breteler & al. 10985 (WAG), AM409174, – ; Pentas parvifolia Hiern, GenBank, AJ847406, – ; Pseudosabicea arborea
(K. Schum.) N. Hallé (1), Burundi, Reekmans 11116 (K), AM409167, AM409049; P. arborea (2), Burundi, Reekmans 11116 (WAG),
AM409138, AM409050; P. aurifodinae N. Hallé, Gabon, Wieringa & al. 5026 (WAG), AM409162, AM409046; P. batesii (Wernham)
N. Hallé, Gabon, Valkenburg & al. 2569 (WAG), AM409139, AM409048; P. medusula (K. Schum. ex Wernham) N. Hallé, Cameroon, Andel & al. 3555 (WAG), AM409163, AM409047; P. mildbraedii (Wernham) N. Hallé, Gabon, Wieringa & al. 5032 (WAG),
AM409137, AM409051; P. nobilis (R. Good) N. Hallé, Gabon, Valkenburg & al. 2604 (WAG), AM409165, AM409052; P. proselyta
N. Hallé, Gabon, Valkenburg & al. 2646 (WAG), AM409166, AM409053; P. segregata (Hiern) N. Hallé, Gabon, Wieringa & al.
5025 (WAG), AM409164, AM409054; Psychotria amboniana K. Schum., GenBank, AJ847409, – ; Sabicea amazonensis Wernham,
Brazil, Campbell & al. P22037 (MO), AM409157, AM409007; S. angolensis Wernham, Republic of the Congo, Lisowski B-7136
(BR), AM409142, AM409006; S. aspera Aubl., French Guiana, Andersson & al. 2003 (NY), AM409143, AM409008; S. brevipes
Wernham, Ghana, Jongkind & Nieuwenhuis 2793 (WAG), AM409178, AM409009; S. caminata N. Hallé, Gabon, Wilde & Sosef 10311
(WAG), AM409118, AM409010; S. capitellata Benth., Equatorial Guinea, Sonké & Esono 2533 (BR), AM409161, AM409012; S.
chocoana C.M. Taylor, Colombia, Delprete 6342 (NY), AM409144, AM409013; S. cinerea Aubl., French Guiana, Andersson & al.
1903 (NY), AM409120, AM409014; S. congensis Wernham, Gabon, Breteler 12428 (WAG), AM409146, AM409015; S. dewevrei De
Wild. & T. Durand, Republic of the Congo, Lemaire 1393 (BR), AM409121, AM409016; S. dinklagei K. Schum., Malawi, Pawek 6510
(UPS), AM409122, AM409017; S. discolor Stapf, Ivory Coast, Jongkind & al. 4880 (WAG), AM409145, AM409018; S. diversifolia
Pers., GenBank, AJ847396, AJ846883; S. exellii G. Taylor, São Tomé and Príncipe, Joffroy 188 (BRLU), AM409124, AM409020;
S. ferruginea Benth., Liberia, Jongkind & al. 5683 (WAG), AM409125, AM409021; S. fulva Wernham, Gabon, Wieringa & al. 4094
(WAG), AM409126, AM409022; S. gilletii De Wild., Dem. Rep. of the Congo (Zaire), Lejoly 82/903 (BR), AM409154, AM409023;
S. glabrescens Benth., Guyana, Gillespie & Tiwari 825 (NY), AM409147, AM409024; S. grisea Cham. & Schltdl., Brazil, Arbo &
al. 7191 (NY), AM409159, AM409040; S. harleyae Hepper, Ivory Coast, Jongkind & al. 4867 (WAG), AM409152, AM409025; S.
humilis S. Moore, Brazil, Malme 2684 (S), AM409148, AM409026; S. ingrata K. Schum., São Tomé and Príncipe, Ogonnovsky 10
(BRLU), AM409149, AM409027; S. johnstonii K. Schum. ex Wernham, Gabon, Wieringa & al. 4652 (WAG), AM409150, AM409028;
S. mattogrossensis Wernham, Bolivia, Beck & Haase 9986 (NY), AM409127, AM409029; S. mexicana Wernham, Mexico, Hahn
639 (NY), AM409153, AM409030; S. najatrix N. Hallé, Gabon, Wieringa & al. 4653 (WAG), AM409128, AM409031; S. orientalis
Wernham, Tanzania, Mhoro 443 (UPS), AM409155, AM409032; S. panamensis Wernham, Ecuador, Harling & Ståhl 26896 (S),
AM409156, AM409033; S. pyramidalis L. Andersson, Ecuador, Burnham 1455 (F), AM409129, AM409034; S. rosea Hoyle, Ivory
Coast, Jongkind 4550 (WAG), AM409158, AM409035; S. seua Wernham, Madagascar, Malcomber & al. 1085 (WAG), AM409130,
AM409036; S. speciosa K. Schum., Nigeria, Meer 1623 (WAG), AM409131, AM409037; S. thomensis Joffroy, São Tomé and
Príncipe, Ogonnovsky 18 (BRLU), AM409132, AM409038; S. venezuelensis Steyerm., Venezuela, Huber 4201 (NY), AM409133,
AM409039; S. venosa Benth., Central Africa Republic, Sonké & Beina 2797 (WAG), AM409134, AM409041; S. villosa Willd. ex
Roem. & Schult. (1), Costa Rica, Delprete 5102 (NY), AM409160, AM409042; S. villosa (2), Ecuador, Delprete & Verduga 6396
(NY), AM409135, AM409043; S. vogelii Benth., Ivory Coast, Jongkind & al. 4859 (WAG), AM409136, AM409044; S. xanthotricha
Wernham, Cameroon, Sonké 1082 (BR), AM409151, AM409045; Sabicea sp., Bolivia, Nee 46014 (NY), AM409119, AM409011;
Schizostigma hirsutum Arn. (= S. ceylanica Puff.), Sri Lanka, Iwarsson 576 (UPS), AM409168, AM409057; Stipularia efulenensis
Hutch., Cameroon, Andel 3417 (WAG), AM409123, AM409019; S. elliptica Schweinf. ex Hiern, Dem. Rep. of the Congo (Zaire),
Lisowski 56663 (BR), AM409169, AM409058; Tamridaea capsulifera (Balf. f.) Thulin & B. Bremer, Yemen, Miller & al. 10087
(UPS), AM409170, AM409059; Tarenna neurophylla (S. Moore) Bremek., GenBank, AJ847403, – ; Temnopteryx sericea Hook. f.
(1), Equatorial Guinea, Wieringa & Haegens 2266 (WAG), AM409175, – ; T. sericea (2), Gabon, Tabak 99 (WAG), AM409176, – ;
Virectaria multiflora (Sm.) Bremek., Ivory Coast, Leeuwenberg 2295 (UPS), AM409171, AM409060; V. procumbens (Sm.) Bremek.,
Liberia, Adams 453 (UPS), AM409172, AM409061; Warszewiczia coccinea Klotzsch, GenBank, AJ847397, AJ846884.
17