CAMPBELL, CHRISTOPHER S.1* and TIMOTHY A. DICKINSON2. 1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469-5751, U.S.A.; 2Royal Ontario Museum, Center for Biodiversity & Conservation Biology, 100 Queen's Park, Ontario, M5S 2C6, CANADA. - Rosaceae phylogeny: Current knowledge, problems, and prospects.
Rosaceae are important for many edible and commercial fruits,
ornamentals, and ecologically significant species. Understanding the
evolutionary history and systematics of the family has been hampered
by its large size, considerable geologic age, hybridization,
polyploidy, agamospermy, indistinct boundaries between taxa, and
complex relationships among taxa. The primary objectives of this
colloquium are to synthesize and discuss what is known about the
evolution and phylogeny of the family in reproductive biology
(including agamospermy, polyploidy, and hybridization), in the
evolution of flowers and fruit, in taxonomically challenging genera
(such as Crataegus, Rubus, and Sorbus), and in
the phylogeny of the two largest clades, Maloideae and Rosoideae, and
of the entire family. A phylogenetic perspective will advance our
understanding of evolution of the Rosaceae and stimulate and direct
future research in the family.
Key words: phylogeny, Rosaceae, systematics