A revised tribal classification of Papaveraceae (poppy family) based on molecular and morphological data

Abstract Papaveraceae, commonly known as the poppy family, contains many species with horticultural and/or pharmaceutical importance and has been the subject of various molecular studies. However, a widely accepted tribal classification for Papaveraceae remains lacking. In this study, we used a sampling covering all 48 of the currently recognized genera of Papaveraceae. Our study is to employ broad morphological data in combination with sequence data from two nuclear and seven plastid DNA regions to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships within the family. Our analyses indicate that Pteridophylloideae is sister to the clade containing Hypecooideae and Fumarioideae, and these three lineages are in turn sister to Papaveroideae. The alternative topologies constraining Pteridophylloideae as sister to the other poppy species, to Papaveroideae or to Hypecooideae, as recovered in previous studies, are all rejected. Fumarioideae contains nine main clades, and Fumarieae is nested in traditional Corydaleae. Within Papaveroideae, three main clades are recovered and Platystemoneae is embedded within traditional Papavereae. Both topologies constraining traditional Corydaleae or Papavereae as monophyletic are significantly rejected. Within this phylogenetic framework, the evolution of selected characters is inferred and diagnostic morphological characters at different taxonomic levels are identified and discussed. Based on morphological and molecular evidence, a new tribal classification of Papaveraceae is presented, in which 4 subfamilies, 14 tribes (including 7 newly described tribes), and 43 genera are recognized.