Intercontinental long-distance dispersal of Canellaceae from the New to the Old World revealed by a nuclear single copy gene and chloroplast loci

Canellales, a clade consisting of Winteraceae and Canellaceae, represent the smallest order of magnoliid angiosperms. The clade shows a broad distribution throughout the Southern Hemisphere, across a diverse range of dry to wet tropical forests. In contrast to their sister-group, Winteraceae, the phylogenetic relations and biogeography within Canellaceae remain poorly studied. Here we present the phylogenetic relationships of all currently recognized genera of Canellales with a special focus on the Old World Canellaceae using a combined dataset consisting of the chloroplast trnK-matK-trnK-psbA and the nuclear single copy gene mag1 (Maigo 1). Within Canellaceae we found high statistical support for the monophyly of Warburgia and Cinnamosma. However, we also found relationships that differ from previous studies. Cinnamodendron splitted into two clades, a South American clade and a second clade confined to the Antilles and adjacent areas. Cinnamodendron from the Antilles, as well as Capsicodendron, South American Cinnamodendron and Pleodendron were not monophyletic. Consequently, Capsicodendron should be included in the South American Cinnamodendron clade and the genus Pleodendron merged with the Cinnamodendron clade from the Antilles. We also found that Warburgia (restricted to mainland eastern Africa) together with the South American Cinnamodendron and Capsicodendron are sister to the Malagasy genus Cinnamosma. In addition to the unexpected geographical relationships, both biogeographic and molecular clock analyses suggest vicariance, extinction, and at least one intercontinental long-distance-dispersal event. Our dating result contrasts previous work on Winteraceae. Diversification of Winteraceae took place in the Paleocene, predating the Canellaceae diversification by 13 MA in the Eocene. The phylogenetic relationships for Canellaceae supported here offer a solid framework for a future taxonomic revision of the Canellaceae.