Chloroplast DNA restriction site data support a narrowed interpretation ofEupatorium (Asteraceae)

Chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) restriction site analysis was used to assess relationships among samples of Eupatorieae from eastern North America. A total of 270 cpDNA variants was recorded from 35 species using 13 restriction enzymes. Phylogenetic analysis usingGalinsoga, Flaveria, andHelianthinae as outgroups indicated that samples ofAgeratina, Hofmeisteria, Mikania, andStevia, each of which have relatively high base chromosome numbers, formed an unresolved basal polytomy. The remaining samples examined formed a well-supported clade, within which there was a split betweenBrickellia, which hasx = 9, and a number of genera withx = 10. Within thex = 10 clade, there was an unresolved trichotomy, with one group ofAgeratum, Conoclinium, Fleischmannia, andCritonia, a second ofLiatris andTrilisa, and a third ofEupatorium s.s. Within theEupatorium s.s. clade there were three further clades, withE. sect.Verticillata diverging first, and a subsequent split between species originating from North America and those from Asia. The cpDNA restriction site data provided support for a relatively narrow interpretation ofEupatorium, and indicated that a high chromosome base number is plesiomorphic for Eupatorieae.