A cladistic analysis of ndhF sequences from representative species of Saintpaulia and Streptocarpus subgenera Streptocarpus and Streptocarpella (Gesneriaceae)

Abstract

Two African genera of the Gesneriaceae, Saintpaulia and Streptocarpus, are similar in many respects. Both genera have blue to purple flowers, pollen of similar shape and exine sculpting, embryos with one-celled, uninucleate chalazal haustoria, shared vegetative structures among some species, and are among the few genera in the Gesneriaceae which include species with chromosome counts of n = 15. The similarity of these features has indicated that the two genera are likely to be closely related.