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Type: Article
Published: 2014-05-26
Page range: 187–198
Abstract views: 26
PDF downloaded: 1

Towards a monophyletic classification of Lejeuneaceae III: the systematic position of Leiolejeunea

Mittlere Letten 11, 88634 Herdwangen-Schönach, Germany.
Systematic Botany, Faculty of Biology, University of Munich (LMU), Menzinger Str. 67, 80638 Munich, Germany.
Department of Systematic Botany, Albrecht von Haller Institute of Plant Sciences, Georg August University, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073 Göttingen, Germany.
Merellaan 13, 5552 BZ Valkenswaard, The Netherlands.
Instituto de Botânica, Caixa Postal 68041, 04045-972 São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Courant Research Centre Geobiology, Georg August University, Goldschmidtstraße 3, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
Department of Life Science, Natural History Museum, London, SW7, 5BD, UK.
Systematic Botany, Faculty of Biology, University of Munich (LMU), Menzinger Str. 67, 80638 Munich, Germany.
liverwort Lejeuneeae molecular phylogeny Porellales taxonomy

Abstract

The derived liverwort Leiolejeunea grandiflora was recollected at the type locality in Jamaica after more than 100 years. The characteristics of its oil bodies were described for the first time based on the new collections. Each leaf cell possesses 2-4(-6) rather small, subhomogeneous to very finely segmented, subglobose to ellipsoidal, colorless oil bodies. The plants were either dioicous or autoicous. DNA sequences of two chloroplast regions (trnL-trnF, rbcL) and the nuclear ribosomal ITS region were obtained for two accessions of Leiolejeunea to enable the inference of the phylogenetic relationships of these plants. Based on Bayesian inference of phylogeny as well as maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses of a dataset including 87 representatives of Lejeuneaceae, Leiolejeunea was found as the putative sister to either Echinolejeuneinae or Cheilolejeuneinae. Thus, we propose the new monogeneric subtribe Leiolejeuneinae with relationships to Cheilolejeuneinae and Echinolejeuneinae. The analyses included also one accession of the generitype of Cheilolejeunea, C. decidua [= Cheilolejeunea adnata]. This species was found in a well supported sister relationship with Cystolejeunea. To avoid nomenclatural confusion, we propose a wide genus concept for Cheilolejeunea including Aureolejeunea, Cyrtolejeunea, Cystolejeunea, Evansiolejeunea, Leucolejeunea, and Omphalanthus.