The Intra-familial Relationships of Pentaphylacaceae s.l. as Revealed by DNA Sequence Analysis

During the past three decades, molecular taxonomy has made considerable changes in the systematic delimitations of several families in the order Ericales which were formed earlier based on morphology. For instance, the Pentaphylacaceae s.l. has been treated differently by both modern and traditional taxonomists. Modern molecular taxonomists constituted this family by combining the traditionally defined Pentaphylacaceae s.s. (Pentaphylax), Sladeniaceae s.s. (Sladenia), the subfamily Ternstroemioideae with 11 genera of Theaceae s.l. and the genus Ficalhoa. There are also treatments placing the genus Pentaphylax with Ternstroemioideae in Pentaphylacaceae and Ficalhoa with Sladenia in Sladeniaceae. Because most of these genera are poorly studied, investigations on all aspects are important to understand the phylogeny to settle the issues surrounding the treatment of the 14 genera in this family. In the present study, DNA sequences of nrITS and trnL-F genes from species of 11 genera from these 14 genera were generated and analyzed together with sequences from other closely related members of Ericales. The results suggested existence of four distinct lineages viz., Sladenia, Pentaphylax, and tribes Frezierieae (9 genera) and Ternstroemieae (2 genera). Further, it demonstrated that within the biggest lineage, Frezierieae, the Visnea remained sister to the clades Adinandra+Cleyera, Euryodendron+Symplococarpon, Freziera, and finally, Eurya. Based on the evidence, it can be concluded that Sladeniaceae and Pentaphylacaceae are very close to each other and the proposal of merging them into a mega family Pentaphylacaceae s.l. with four tribes, i.e., Sladenieae, Pentaphylaceae, Ternstroemieae, and Freziereae should be considered seriously.