A PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF CUNONIACEAE

We present a cladistic analysis of genera of Cunoniaceae based on 44 structural characters using Wagner parsimony. A synthetic outgroup based on the attributes of Hamamelidaceae, Rosaceae and Fagaceae was used to polarize character states and root resulting cladograms. In all of the resulting cladograms, a clade consisting of Gillbeea, Brunellia, Spiraeanthemum, and Aistopetalum formed the sister group of the rest of the Cunoniaceae. The continued recognition of Brunellia in a monogeneric family separate from Cunoniaceae was not supported by our results. The hypothesis that apocarpy was secondarily derived within the Cunoniaceae in Brunellia and Spiraeanthemum was supported. The sister group of the above set of taxa shared the derived possession of interpetiolar stipules (although they originated in parallel in the Spiraeanthemum-Aistopetalum group). The group defined by interpetiolar stipules, consisting of the bulk of the Cunoniaceae, includes Eucryphia and Bauera, which have been placed often in monotypic families. Eucryphia is the sister group of a clade defined by bicarpellate gynoecia, which are derived within Cunoniaceae. Bauera is a member of a clade of subshrubs that includes Acrophyllum and Anodopetalum.