Phylogeny of the Inuleae (Asteraceae) with special emphasis on the Inuleae‐Plucheinae

Abstract Phylogenetic relationships in the tribe Inuleae (Asteraceae, sunflower family) are elucidated based on a concatenated set of nuclear (ETS, ITS), and chloroplast data ( ndhF , trnL ‐ F , trnH ‐ psbA ), analysed by Bayesian and parsimony methods. Extensive sampling of representatives from both subtribes Inuleae‐Inulinae and Inuleae‐Plucheinae establish their reciprocal monophyly, and result in the first‐ever resolved molecular phylogeny of the Inuleae‐Plucheinae with new insights into the relationships and morphological character distributions between genera and among species. Of the 31 accepted genera in the Inuleae‐Plucheinae, only Pseudoblepharispermum is not represented in this study, 12 monotypic genera are placed in the phylogeny, 13 genera are shown to be monophyletic, and only 5 of the remaining 18 genera are revealed to be polyphyletic. The implications for the nomenclature status of the monotypic and polyphyletic genera are discussed, together with a descriptive review of morphological characters traditionally used to circumscribe the genera in this subtribe.