Systematics of Plumbaginaceae based upon cladistic analysis of rbcL sequence data

The monophyly and phylogenetic relationships of Plumbaginaceae (sensu Cronquist) were evaluated using parsimony analysis of nucleotide sequences of the plastid gene rbcL. Analysis of 42 taxa, including 18 species of Plumbaginaceae, placed this family as a strongly supported monophyletic group sister to Polygonaceae and in the same clade as Simmondsiaceae, Nepenthaceae, Droseraceae and Caryophyllales. Within Plumbaginaceae, two well supported groups are present, corresponding to subfamilies Plumbaginoideae and Staticoideae. These groups have been regarded as independent families by some authors, and anatomical, morphological and biochemical differences are well defined. The taxonomic status of each group is discussed.