The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Sloanea leptocarpa (Elaeocarpaceae) from China

Sloanea leptocarpa Diels, 1931 of the Elaeocarpaceae is an endemic plant from China distributed in subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests and an excellent ornamental tree. The only available chloroplast genomic resource of the genus at present is that of S. sinensis (Hance) Hemsl., 1900 from eastern China. Here, we report the complete chloroplast genome sequence of S. leptocarpa which is less common than S. sinensis. The complete chloroplast genome of S. leptocarpa is 158,077 bp in length, and shows quadripartite organization including a pair of inverted repeat regions (IRs) (24,963 bp) that is divided by a large single-copy (LSC) region (88,519 bp) and a small single-copy (SSC) region (19,632 bp). The circular chloroplast genome of S. leptocarpa contains 119 unique genes, composed of 74 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis involving 52 species with complete chloroplast genomes supported that S. leptocarpa is closely related to S. sinensis. This finding is in agreement with previous studies in which Elaeocarpaceae belongs to Oxalidales instead of Malvales and provides additional evidence for the monophyly of the Sloanea, a sister clade of the Elaeocarpus.