Myth and reality of the subtribe Astephaninae (Decne.) Schumann (Asclepiadaceae)

Abstract

The subtribe Astephaninae (tribe Asclepiadeae, Asclepiadaceae) is recircumscribed to contain 11 genera: Astephanus, Blyttia, Diplostigma, Goydera, Aiicroloma, Oncinema, Pentatropis, Pteurosteima, Rhyncharrhena, Schizostephanus, and Tylophoropsis. Following a character analysis, phylogeny was analysed by means of a computerized parsimony program (HENNIG86).Astephanus /Microloma is identified as the most stable clade, followed by Tylophopropsis/Pentatropis/Rhyncharrhena, Blyttia/Diplostigma and Schizostephanus/Goydera. A key to the genera is presented, as well as notes on distribution, important characters, and present state of knowledge for each genus. The genus Schizostephanus is resurrected and four new combinations are proposed.

Asclepiadeae classification: evaluating the phylogenetic relationships of New World Asclepiadoideae (Apocynaceae)

“…5). Astephaninae have been reduced to just three genera, Astephanus, Microloma and Oncinema, a group well supported by both morphological analysis (Liede, 1994(Liede, , 1996a; but see Bruyns, 1999a) and molecular data (Liede, 2001). The remaining genera (Blyttia, Diplostigma, Goydera, Pentatropis, Pleurostelma Baill., Ryncharrhena F.…”

“…; Wanntorp, 1988). Generic relationships within Astephaninae were also investigated in morphological cladistic analyses (Liede, 1994(Liede, , 1996aBruyns, 1999a) and recently re-investigated with molecular data (Liede, 2001). Other particular groups, such as Sarcostemma s.…”

The taxonomy and systematics of Apocynaceae: where we stand in 2012

“…Tylophora R.Br. had been included in Astephaninae (Liede, , ; Liede & Albert, ), but with the narrower circumscription of the subtribe proposed by Liede () with just three genera, sister to the rest of Asclepiadeae (Liede, ; Rapini et al ., ), a new subtribe Tylophorinae was erected. In addition, Liede‐Schumann et al .…”

Subtribal division of Ceropegieae (Apocynaceae­Asclepiadoideae)

“…in Marsdenieae. Schumann (1895) subdivided his superfluously named Tylophoreae into two subtribes: Marsdeniinae and Ceropegiinae, which represent more or less the same groups as the "modern" tribes Marsdenieae and Ceropegieae, respectively, but with the addition of Tylophora, which has meanwhile been classified unanimously as a member of Asclepiadeae (Liede, 1994;Swarupanandan & al., 1996). Bentham's (1876) taxonomy separating Ceropegieae from Stapelieae because of the stem-succulence of the latter has been widely used.…”