Compositae Systematics
Backbone phylogeny of Vernonieae overlay over Chresta sphaerocephala.Compositae is one of the largest families of flowering plants, with more than 25,000 described species. They are found across the globe in all types of environment, specially in dry, seasonal habitats. Their striking morphological diversity and ecological importance make the family a key component in the study of evolution of plants. Assembling well-sampled phylogenies is the first step in the understanding of evolutionary process, such as hybridization, polyploidy and speciation, and also of the biogeographical movements that led to the current distribution.
My main interest in Compositae is the tribe Vernonieae, which has 1500 species distributed mainly in the Americas, Africa and Southeast Asia. I’m currently working in building a complete phylogeny of the genus Vernonia, with a focus on understanding population dynamics of the species from Southeastern USA.
Carolina M. Siniscalchi
Post-Doctoral Associate
I’m a plant systematist, with interest in plant evolution, systematics and taxonomy.
