Format: POSTER

Dominik Metschina1, Rosabelle Samuel1, Luiz Augusto Caus dos Santos1, Maarten Christenhusz2, James W. Byng3, Deepthi Yakandawala5, Tara de Silva6,Anushka Wickramasuriya6,Mark W. Chase1,2,4

1 Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030 Vienna, Austria 2 Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia 3 Hortus Botanicus, Technical University Delft, The Netherlands 4 Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond TW9 3DS, Surrey, U.K. 5 Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka 6 Department of Plant Sciences, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka

Target enrichment for Piperaceae, including all five genera, produced a well-supported maximum likelihood tree in which there was a good support for (Verhuellia ((Manekia + Zippelia) + (Piper + Peperomia))). Originating in South America in the Late Cretaceous, Piper then dispersed during the middle Eocene climatic optimum (ca. 40 million years ago, when tropical species reached higher latitudes) to southern Africa and the Pacific islands first, followed by New Guinea, Southeast Asia and the Philippines. During the Oligocene the genus radiated in Southeast Asia and reached East Asia, India, Sri Lanka and Australia and re-colonised Africa. The New Caledonian and Vanuatuan species are sister to the New Guinean and Philippine taxa rather than the Pacific species. Once Piper left South America it exhibited a great number of intercontinental dispersals throughout its subsequent evolutionary history.