2009/01/01 by M. Patrick Griffith, J. Mark Porter · 105 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Botanical Research and Applications #Plant Diversity and Evolution #Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies #Biology #Polyphyly #Monophyly #Botany #Subfamily #Phylogenetic tree #Phylogenetics #Context (archaeology) #Evolutionary biology #Zoology #Clade #Paleontology
paper · doi:10.1086/593048
published in International Journal of Plant Sciences 170(1), 107-116 (University of Chicago Press)
openalex publication_date 2009/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/27
Opuntioideae are a diverse subfamily of Cactaceae with significant diversity of form and habitat and wide distribution throughout the New World. Nuclear ribosomal ITS and chloroplast trnL‐trnF region DNA sequence–based phylogenetic analysis of Opuntioideae derived from Bayesian methods is presented. This analysis supports the following relationships: Opuntioideae are monophyletic; the subfamily is made up of four major lineages (Maihueniopsis‐like species, Pterocactus, other terete‐stemmed species, and flat‐stemmed species). The two deepest lineages (including most species of Maihueniopsis and all Pterocactus) are marked by diminutive, succulent, often geophytic habit and are leafless at maturity. These analyses suggest that Opuntioideae have geographic origin in west‐central South America. Generic circumscription is considered in the context of the recovered relationships. Maihueniopsis is recovered in multiple lineages. Many currently accepted genera may be para‐ or polyphyletic.