Molecular systematics of the Amazonian genus Aldina, a phylogenetically enigmatic ectomycorrhizal lineage of papilionoid legumes

• Combining analyses with missing data improve resolution in the legume phylogeny.
• Densely-sampled analyses resolve the placement of the enigmatic papilionoid Aldina.
• The early-branching Andira clade is newly circumscribed to include Aldina.
• A remarkable example of independent evolution of radial flowers is revealed.

Aldina (Leguminosae) is among the very few ecologically successful ectomycorrhizal lineages in a family largely marked by the evolution of nodulating symbiosis. The genus comprises 20 species predominantly distributed in Amazonia and has been traditionally classified in the tribe Swartzieae because of its radial flowers with an entire calyx and numerous free stamens. The taxonomy of Aldina is complicated due to its poor representation in herbaria and the lack of a robust phylogenetic hypothesis of relationship. Recent phylogenetic analyses of matK and trnL sequences confirmed the placement of Aldina in the 50-kb inversion clade, although the genus remained phylogenetically isolated or unresolved in the context of the evolutionary history of the main early-branching papilionoid lineages. We performed maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses of combined chloroplast datasets (matK, rbcL, and trnL) and explored the effect of incomplete taxa or missing data in order to shed light on the enigmatic phylogenetic position of Aldina. Unexpectedly, a sister relationship of Aldina with the Andira clade (Andira and Hymenolobium) is revealed. We suggest that a new tribal phylogenetic classification of the papilionoid legumes should place Aldina along with Andira and Hymenolobium. These results highlight yet another example of the independent evolution of radial floral symmetry within the early-branching Papilionoideae, a large collection of florally heterogeneous lineages dominated by papilionate or bilaterally symmetric flower morphology.

Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide