The circumscription and systematic position of Carpodetaceae

Abstract

The genus Carpodetus from New Zealand, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands, traditionally has been included in the extremely heterogeneous Saxifragaceae sensu lato, but on account of morphological peculiarities it has sometimes been classified in its own family. On palynological grounds it has been suggested to belong near the Ericales. Parsimony analyses of matrices comprising rbcL sequences of 80 taxa sampled from the entire Asteridae and Rosidae provide support for a sister group relationship between Carpodetus and a clade comprising the closely related Australian genera Abrophyllum and Cuttsia, also formerly placed in Saxifragaceae sensu lato, but recently shown to belong within the order Asterales sensu lato. A morphological comparison between the three interrelated genera is provided. They have in common an indumentum of thick-walled unicellular hairs with warty cuticle, and are also uniform in wood anatomy as well as fruit and seed structure. It is proposed that the family Carpodetaceae be expanded to encompass Abrophyllum and Cuttsia.