ID: 613 / 107

Category: Symposia

Track: Pending

Proposed Symposium Title: SYSTEMATICS, PHYLOGENETICS, BIOGEOGRAPHY AND EVOLUTION OF MELASTOMATACEAE

Abstract: The Melastomataceae are a pantropical, mega-diverse family of flowering plants known for their beautiful, mostly buzz-pollinated flowers, their diversity in habit and fruits, their interesting biogeography and ant-plant interactions. A highly dynamic and collaborative community of melastome experts is currently advancing our knowledge in this family at a great pace (Goldenberg, R., Michelangeli, F.A., Almeda, F. (eds) Systematics, Evolution, and Ecology of Melastomataceae. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99742-7_1), and several research groups from different continents teamed up for a worldwide phylogenomic study setting the base for further evolutionary research in melastomes. The large number of radiations in the Old and New World Tropics currently studied in this family and their complex and interesting evolution as well as the discovery and naming of new taxa with surprising placements in the phylogeny make this family a great subject for a symposium. Furthermore, there is broad interest in ecological aspects of the family such as the evolution of climbing and epiphytism, ant-plant interactions as well as dispersal and pollination biology.

Speaker 1: Monique Romeiro-Brito Herbarium FLAS, University of Florida A phylogenomic analysis of Melastomataceae: congruence and incongruence across genomes

Speaker 2: Marie Claire Veranso-Libalah Systematik, Biodiversität und Evolution der Pflanzen, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany M.Veranso@biologie.uni-muenchen.de Revisiting generic relationships of African Melastomateae using Hyb-seq data

Speaker 3: Renato Goldenberg Departamento de Botânica, Centro Politécnico, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil renato.goldenberg@gmail.com Neotropical depauperons: from neglected small genera to strategically placed clades in Melastomataceae phylogenetic trees

Topics (Up to three): Systematics / Phylogenetics /Taxonomy

Topic 2: Biogeography / Macroevolution

Topic 3: Reproductive Biology

Justification: Discovery, correct phylogenetic placement and naming as well as profound description of taxa in mega-diverse groups such as Melastomataceae is fundamental to all further research and at the heart of organismic botany. In melastomes great advances have been made in recent years thanks to a vivid collaborative research community. The IBC 2024 would be a great opportunity for melastome researcher spread all over the world to meet, discuss new advances and foster the melastome network.