The larger part of the matK gene and the (3′−) adjacent spacer have been sequenced and used for phylogenetic analyses in 48 species of Lauraceae from all parts of their geographical range, and in three outgroup taxa. Except for the aberrant genera Hypodaphnis and Cassytha, the genetic divergence within the family is surprisingly low. In spite of this, several clades receive sufficient support to change our current concepts of relationships within the family. Particularly well supported is a Beilschmiedia–Cryptocarya clade that had been recognized by wood anatomy, but not in most of the recent morphological systems. The separation between taxa with involucrate and non-involucrate inflorescences, which had been one of the basic subdivisions in all systems of the family so far, is not supported by the present data. Instead, there seems to be an early division into a Gondwanan group and a Laurasian–South American group.

Communicating Editor: Alan Whittemore