Floral development and molecular phylogeny support the generic status of Tasmannia (Winteraceae)

Abstract

The taxonomic status of and evolutionary relationship between Tasmannia and Drimys (Winteraceae) have been subjects of controversy for many years. In this paper, a molecular phylogenetic analysis of the family with sequences of previously unpublished Tasmannia and Drimys species confirms earlier conclusions that Tasmannia and Drimys do not form a monophyletic group, despite the fact that they appear to share distinctive inflorescence and floral morphological attributes. Examination of alternative hypotheses of relationships with likelihood-ratio tests and parametric bootstrapping supports the separation of Tasmannia and Drimys. A detailed analysis of floral development in Tasmannia lanceolat..