Phylogeny of the dipsacales s.l. based on chloroplast trnL-F and ndhF sequences

Sequences of the chloroplast trnL-F region and 3′ end ndhF gene were used to elucidate phylogenetic relationships and the delimitation of families within Dipsacales s.l. Parsimony analyses of individual and combined data were conducted using maximum parsimony method. The most parsimonious tree based on combined trnL-F and 3′ end ndhF data set recognizes seven major clades of Dipsacales s.l. with the following relationships: Apiales (Adoxaceae ((Diervillaceae, Caprifoliaceae s.str.) (Linnaeaceae (Morinaceae (Dipsacaceae, Valerianaceae))))). Both Sambucus and Viburnum have close relationships with Adoxaceae, supporting their inclusion in this family. Caprifoliaceae s.l. (excluding Sambucus and Viburnum) is polyphyletic, and comprises three clades or families, i.e., Linnaeaceae (Abelia, Dipelta, Kolkwitzia, and Linnaea), Diervillaceae (Weigela and Diervilla) and Caprifoliaceae s.str. (Heptacodium, Leycesteria, Lonicera, Symphoricarpos, and Triosteum). This study focuses on the systematic position of Heptacodium, Triplostegia, and Morinaceae; and suggests that Heptacodium is closely related to the other Caprifoliaceae s.str.; Triplostegia is a sister to Dipsacaceae; Morinaceae, which has an affinity with Dipsacaceae, is possibly a sister group with Dipsacaceae-Valerianaceae clade. Our results are highly congruent with those of Bell et al. (2001) and Donoghue et al. (2001).