<i>Almeidea</i> A. St.-Hil. Belongs to <i>Conchocarpus</i> J.C. Mikan (Galipeinae, Rutaceae): Evidence from Morphological and Molecular Data, with a First Analysis of Subtribe Galipeinae

<div><p>Subtribe Galipeinae (tribe Galipeeae, subfamily Rutoideae) is the most diverse group of Neotropical Rutaceae, with 28 genera and approximately 130 species. One of its genera is <i>Almeidea</i>, whose species are morphologically similar to those of the genus <i>Conchocarpus</i>. Species of <i>Almeidea</i> occur in the Atlantic Rain Forest of Eastern Brazil, with one species (<i>Almeidea rubra</i>) also present in Bolivia. The objective of this study was to perform a phylogenetic analysis of <i>Almeidea</i>, using a broader sampling of Galipeinae and other Neotropical Rutaceae, the first such study focused on this subtribe. To achieve this objective, morphological data and molecular data from the nuclear markers ITS-1 and ITS-2 and the plastid markers <i>trnL-trnF</i> and <i>rps16</i> were obtained. Representatives of eight genera of Galipeinae and three genera of Pilocarpinae (included also in Galipeeae) and <i>Hortia</i> (closely related to Galipeeae) were used. Five species of <i>Almeidea</i> and seven of <i>Conchocarpus</i> were included, given the morphological proximity between these two genera. Individual (for each molecular marker) and combined phylogenetic analyses were made, using parsimony and Bayesian inference as optimization criteria. Results showed Galipeinae as monophyletic, with the species of <i>Almeidea</i> also monophyletic (supported by the presence of pantocolporate pollen) and nested in a clade with a group of species of <i>Conchocarpus</i>, a non-monophyletic group. Additionally, <i>C</i>. <i>concinnus</i> appeared in a group with <i>Andreadoxa</i>, <i>Erythrochiton</i>, and <i>Neoraputia</i>, other members of Galipeinae. As a result, <i>Conchocarpus</i> would be monophyletic only with the exclusion of a group of species related to <i>C</i>. <i>concinnus</i> and with the inclusion of all species of <i>Almeidea</i> with the group of species of <i>Conchocarpus</i> that includes its type species, <i>C</i>. <i>macrophyllus</i>. Thus, species of <i>Almeidea</i> are transferred to <i>Conchocarpus</i>, and the new combinations are made here.</p>