Using molecular data to test the monophyly of Lallemantia in the subtribe Nepetinae (Mentheae, Lamiaceae)

Abstract

Phylogenetic relationships among the species of Lallemantia and its close allies (Lamiaceae, Mentheae) were investigated using nuclear (ITS) and plastid (trnL, trnL/F, trnS/G, rpl32, and rpl32-trnL) DNA sequences. Phylogenetic results from Bayesian and parsimony analyses show that (1) Lallemantia is monophyletic, (2) Hymenocrater is nested within Nepeta, and (3) Lallemantia is more closely related to Dracocephalum than other genera in Nepetinae. Based on the molecular results, the genus Lallemantia comprises two disparate lineages, with each lineage supported by distinct morphological characters (e.g. floral structures and pollen grains).

Keywords:

• cpDNA
• ITS
• Lallemantia
• molecular taxonomy
• Nepetinae

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the staff at the Medicinal Plants Research Centre, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran for their financial assistance. We would like to thank Prof. Farideh Attar from the University of Tehran whose support made this investigation possible. We would also like to thank Akram Rahimi for her technical assistance.