Collaborative Research: A phylogenomics approach to resolving one of the world’s most diverse, tropical angiosperm radiations: Melastomataceae.

(DEB-SBS #2002270)

Funding by the National Science Foundation has enabled us to build the most comprehensive phylogeny of the worldwide, tropical angiosperm family, Melastomataceae, a clade of nearly 6000 species. We are building a phylogeny of nearly half of all Melastomataceae diversity to understand the origin of the clade, its diversification patterns across the planet, and biological processes, such as hybridization and whole genome duplication. This is a community effort, and we have partnered with colleagues from all of the world to make this work possible.