Phylogenetic classification of paleotropical Gesneriaceae

Paleotropical Gesneriaceae (Gesneriaceae subfam. Cyrtandroideae) offer a wealth of problems at various taxonomic levels. At subfamily level it is not clear whether the `Klugieae` (now Epithemateae) should be treated as a subfamily of its own or included as a tribe in subfam. Cyrtandroideae. Though it is widely accepted that the south-hemispherical Coronantheroideae are closer to Gesnerioideae than to Cyrtandroideae, support from data other than morphological would be most welcome. At tribal level, problems concern the taxonomic state of Trichosporeae, which is said to be polyphyletic by recent American studies, and the tribe Cyrtandreae, the baccate fruit of which may be a mere technical character not indicative of affinities. The greatest problems exist in the tribe Didymocarpeae: the affinities of its genera are by no means clear; the most recent classification by BURTT & WIEHLER (1995) simply lists the 64 genera in alphabetical order. For clarification of the most significant problems (not all can be solved in a 2-year`s project), molecular techniques (analysing several sequences of nuclear or chloroplast DNA origin, with different rates of evolution, suitable to address problems at various taxonomic levels) will be applied in combination with morphological studies (fruit structure, anther coherence, stigma types, nodal anatomy).