Phylogenetic relationships in the Neotropical tribe Hamelieae (Rubiaceae, Cinchonoideae) and comments on its generic limits

Our molecular phylogenetic analyses shed some light on the evolutionary relationships within the Hamelieae tribe. Phylogenetic reconstructions based on Internal Transcribed Spacer and trnL-F sequence data revealed the presence of three distinct evolutionary lineages. The first clade includes Hamelia and Syringantha, the second clade includes Deppea s.l. (including Bellizinca, Csapodya, and Edithea), and the third clade includes Pinarophyllon, Deppeopsis, Hoffmannia, Pseudomiltemia, Plocaniophyllon, Omiltemia, and Renistipula. The phylogenetic analysis re-evaluated some taxonomical combinations. The transfer of Deppeopsis taxa from Deppea s.l. is supported, but however, the monophyly of the genus is not. The transfer of Renistipula from Rondeletieae is also highly supported. Both Csapodya and Edithea species form a well-defined group among Deppea s.l. with high posterior probabilities, allowing to reconsider the exclusion or integration of these taxa to Deppea.