OPUS: Lamiales - a synthesis of phylogeny, biology, biogeography, and classification

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

The plant group Lamiales is globally important, representing >8% of all known flowering plants. The group includes numerous species of economic importance such as the mints, olives, sesame, jasmine, and many horticulturally important plants. In this project, Dr. Olmstead will synthesize 25 years of research in his lab on the evolution and systematics of this large and globally diverse flowering plant group. He will also integrate the extensive literature on these plants from research into their morphology, anatomy, cytology, chemistry, taxonomy, paleontology, and ecology. The project will produce a phylogenetic tree that will use data from publicly available databases (GenBank) and employ new computational techniques to accommodate the analysis of evolutionary relationships in the very large datasets of the ~22,000 Lamiales species. Dr. Olmstead will also produce a book on the present state of knowledge on this group. The rapid pace of discovery over the past two decades, particularly in the Lamiales, has meant that common botanical reference works are out of date. This has made it difficult for researchers, educators, agricultural scientists, and others to find accurate information on a range of topics for the diversity of plants in this group. The large-scale evolutionary tree produced by this research will permit a more thorough understanding of the diversification of a globally important plant group, and compiling the literature on Lamiales will permit researchers, growers and educators both an overview of the diversity and biology of this group and entrée into the literature for those who want a deeper understanding.