Home at last: The enigmatic genera Eriachaenium and Adenocaulon (Compositae, Mutisioideae, Mutisieae, Adenocaulinae)

The genera Eriachaenium and Adenocaulon (Compositae) have distinct but complex histories and both have been placed in a number of tribes across the family. For the first time the two genera are included in a molecular study and the results show that they are best placed in the tribe Mutisieae s.s. and are the only genera in the re-instated subtribe Adenocaulinae. When described, this subtribe contained only Adenocaulon and was found in the Inuleae. The study also confirms one of the conclusions of a recent morphological study that Eriachaenium and Adenocaulon are sister taxa. Past difficulties in tribal assignment are attributed to the distinct and unusual morphology of each genus. Both genera and the subtribe are described and a key to separate the genera is provided.Fil: Funk, Vicki A.. Smithsonian Institution; Estados Unidos. National Museum of Natural History; Estados UnidosFil: Pasini, Eduardo. Smithsonian Institution; Estados Unidos. National Museum of Natural History; Estados Unidos. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Bonifacino, J. Mauricio. Smithsonian Institution; Estados Unidos. National Museum of Natural History; Estados Unidos. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Katinas, Liliana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División de Plantas Vasculares; Argentina. Smithsonian Institution; Estados Unidos. National Museum of Natural History; Estados Unido