New insights into the relationships between Paraboea, Trisepalum, and Phylloboea (Gesneriaceae) and their taxonomic consequences

The phylogenetic relationships between Paraboea, Trisepalum and Phylloboea, in the twisted-fruited clade of the advanced Asiatic and Malesian Gesneriaceae, were investigated using nuclear and chloroplast data. Maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference analyses demonstrated unambiguously that the three genera originated from a single common ancestor, that Phylloboea is nested deeply in Trisepalum and that in turn Trisepalum is nested in Paraboea. As Paraboea has been conserved against Phylloboea and Trisepalum the necessary new combinations in Paraboea are made here. The enlarged genus Paraboea comprises around 120 species. The phylogeny presented here will provide a valuable framework for future biogeographic and comparative studies in Gesneriaceae.