60325 Frankfurt a. A complex spectrum of morphological, anatomical, and palynological characters and a comparatively rich fossil record made Nymphaea destined for an interdisciplinary approach integrating molecular biology, morphology, and paleobotany to gain a better understanding of the phylogeny of the genus and its distribution and diversification over the continents. We sequenced the trnT-trnF region of the chloroplast genome of 15 representative species of Nymphaea . Species of subgenera Hydrocallis and Lotus share length mutations of 5 and 16 bp, and a series of 8-9 As instead of 7 Ts.
Parsimony analysis places species of subgen.
Hydrocallis in a basal position together with subgen. The pantropical subgen. Brachyceras is most likely paraphyletic and the australasian subgen. Anecphya nests within it. The north temperate taxa of subgen Nymphaea form a well resolved terminal clade.