Evolution and biogeography of the slipper orchids: Eocene vicariance of the conduplicate genera in the Old and New World Tropics.

ABSTRACT: Intercontinental disjunctions between tropical regions, which harbor two-thirds of the flowering plants, have drawn great interest from biologists and biogeographers. Most previous studies on these distribution patterns focused on woody plants, and paid little attention to herbs. The Orchidaceae is one of the largest families of angiosperms, with a herbaceous habit and a high species diversity in the Tropics. Here we investigate the evolutionary and biogeographical history of the slipper orchids, which represents a monophyletic subfamily (Cypripedioideae) of the orchid family and comprises five genera that are disjunctly distributed in tropical to temperate regions. A relatively well-resolved and highly supported phylogeny of slipper orchids was reconstructed based on sequence analyses of

SUBMITTER: Guo YY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3369861 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature