Tribes of Boraginoideae (Boraginaceae) and placement of Antiphytum , Echiochilon , Ogastemma and Sericostoma: A phylogenetic analysis based on  atp  B plastid DNA sequence data

The genera Antiphytum , Echiochilon , Ogastemma and Sericostoma , which have been difficult to place within the tribes of the subfamily Boraginoideae (Boraginaceae), are analysed using plastid atp B sequence data. A selection of Boraginaceae genera was used to obtain a framework for the phylogenetic position of Antiphytum , Echiochilon , Ogastemma and Sericostoma . Sericostoma is found to belong within Echiochilon . The new tribe Echiochileae, Boragineae and Lithospermeae are monophyletic but the tribes Eritrichieae and Cynoglosseae are paraphyletic. The biogeography of Echiochileae ( Echiochilon and Ogastemma from Africa and western Asia, and Antiphytum from America) is discussed.