Create your own conference schedule! Click here for full instructions

Abstract Detail



Systematics Section/ASPT

Grace, Olwen M. [1], Forest, Felix [2], Rønsted, N. [3].

Systematics and biogeography of Aloe L. (subfamily Asphodeloideae, Xanthorrhoeaceae).

Aloe L. s. l. (Xanthorrhoeaceae subf. Asphodelooideae) is a charismatic succulent genus of considerable diversity (ca. 500 species). Our study addresses the taxonomic complexity of the group and the processes which gave rise to their present-day diversity and distribution on the African continent, Madagascar and the Arabian Peninsula. We have assembled a comprehensive phylogeny of Aloe, representing the full morphological and geographical diversity of the genus. It presently covers about 25% of the species-level diversity of Aloe and significantly expands upon the number of taxa and regions sequenced to date. The traditionally broad circumscription of Aloe has been accommodated by infrageneric groups but even the most recent classification (published in two volumes by G. W. Reynolds in 1950 and 1966) remained incomplete and lacked predictive power. A reassessment of the classification of Aloe and related alooid genera necessitated several nomenclatural adjustments, which have included elevating the tree aloes and scrambling aloes to generic rank as Aloidendron and Aloiampelos, respectively, the reinstatement of the monotypic Cape endemic genus Kumara plicatilis, and the inclusion of Chortolirion Berger in Aloe. The changes resolve the problem of paraphyly in Aloe and uphold a consistently narrow generic concept among alooid genera. New insights into the systematics and biogeography of Aloe and segregate genera will be discussed within this taxonomic framework.

Broader Impacts:


Log in to add this item to your schedule

1 - Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Surrey, TW9 3DS, United Kingdom
2 - Royal Botanic Gardens - Kew, Jodrell Laboratory, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3DS, United Kingdom
3 - Botanic Garden & Herbarium, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Sølvgade 83 Entrance S, Copenhagen, DK-1307 , Denmark

Keywords:
none specified

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 48
Location: Elmwood/Riverside Hilton
Date: Wednesday, July 31st, 2013
Time: 2:45 PM
Number: 48006
Abstract ID:953
Candidate for Awards:None


Copyright © 2000-2012, Botanical Society of America. All rights reserved