Nolaneae-Solanaceae

The vegetation of coastal Peru and northern Chile, termed "lomas" formations, is composed of floristic elements from various biogeographic sources [see Environments/Coastal Deserts]. Nolana (Solanaceae-Nolaneae) stands out as the most wide-ranging and conspicuous floristic element of these formations; and the evolutionary history of Nolana holds clues to age and origin of the coastal deserts. Members of Nolana have traditionally been recognized at the familial (Nolanaceae) or subfamilial (Nolanoideae) rank due to its unusual carpel morphology, but molecular studies have placed Nolana L. firmly within the family Solanaceae with closest relationships to Sclerophylax Miers, Phrodus Miers, Lycium L. and Grabowskia Schldl. in a clade that also contains Hyoscyamus L. and Atropa L. Our studies of the phylogenetic relationships within the Nolana include data from hybridization experiments, morphology, physiology, and molecular data from a wide range of markers. The establishment of a putative phylogeny for the Nolana provides a framework for testing hypotheses of character evolution and biogeography.

Nolana Systematics

Examples of Nolana Herbarium Sheets

Examples of Macbride's European Type Photographs

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