Neotrichocoleaceae is a
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
of
liverworts in
order Ptilidiales
Ptilidiales is an order of liverwort
The Marchantiophyta () are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells ...
. It is closely related to the genera ''
Ptilidium'' and ''
Herzogianthus''.
Phylogeny
The diagram at left summarizes a portion of a 2006
cladistic analysis
Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived chara ...
of liverworts based upon three chloroplast genes, one nuclear gene, and one mitochondrial gene.
The genus ''
Trichocoleopsis'' was not included in the original broad analysis, but it is the sister taxon of ''
Neotrichocolea'' according to a more narrowly focussed study utilizing six chloroplast genes, two nuclear genes, and a mitochondrial gene.
The genus ''
Ptilidium'' is sister to the ''Trichocoleopsis''-''Neotrichocolea'' clade. The genus ''
Herzogianthus'' is also believed to be related to this group,
although it was not included in either molecular analysis. This combined clade, in turn, attaches at the base of a large clade (2600 species) designated "Leafy II". That clade, together with "Leafy I" (another 1800 species) and ''
Pleurozia'' constitute the
Jungermanniales
Jungermanniales is the largest order of liverworts. They are distinctive among the liverworts for having thin leaf-like flaps on either side of the stem. Most other liverworts are thalloid, with no leaves. Due to their dorsiventral organization ...
, as traditionally defined.
References
External links
Ptilidiales
Liverwort families
{{Bryophyte-stub