Phylogenetic relationships of the two Malagasy Sapotaceae endemic genera Capurodendron and Tsebona have been unclear until now. Recent collections from Madagascar, as well as a better representation of the tribe Isonandreae, altogether 95 terminals, were used to estimate a phylogeny of subfamily Sapotoideae. We analysed sequences of nrDNA (ITS) and cpDNA (trnH-psbA) with Bayesian inference and parsimony jackknifing. As in previous analyses, Sapoteae and Sideroxyleae are recovered monophyletic. In addition, Isonandreae, distributed in the Indo-Pacific, is for the first time resolved as monophy- letic and sister to Sapoteae. All Malagasy accessions of Capurodendron, Tsebona, and a new species are grouped in another well-supported clade. This clade is accommodated in a new tribe Tseboneae characterized by caducous stipules, 5-merous flowers with quincuncial sepals, contorted aestivation of corolla lobes, absence of corolla appendages, one or three stamens opposite each corolla lobe, villous staminodes, seeds with an adaxial scar and plano-convex cotyledons, lacking endosperm. The new species is described in the new genus Bemangidia (B. lowryi) because it has a unique leaf venation for the tribe and combines different morphological features from Capurodendron and Tsebona. All three genera are well-supported monophy- letic groups. Bemangidia lowryi is threatened with extinction due to extensive ongoing forest destruction and is assigned a preliminary conservation status of Critically Endangered.

Pycnandra longiflora (Sapotaceae) belongs to the largest endemic genus in New Caledonia. It is only known from the type collection made in 1861–67 at the obscure locality “Gatope”. Relocation of this species has been of high priority for more than a decade, but without success. Pycnandra longiflora was therefore recently declared extinct. However, a population was recently discovered near a mining site at Onajiele, in the Ouazangou-Taom massif, and it is revealed that P. longiflora has the most spectacular flowers in the entire genus, being large and bicoloured in red and yellow. A thorough description is here outlined and we propose a preliminary IUCN status as Critically Endangered.

The genus Pycnandra Benth. (Sapotaceae, Chrysophylloideae) is endemic to New Caledonia with 66 known species and is subdivided in six subgenera. We have earlier revised four of these subgenera and here continue with P. subgenus Leptostylis and describe P. subgenus Wagapensia. Subgenus Leptostylis is distinguished mainly by its opposite leaves and four sepals, and includes eight species, of which two are described as new (P. amplexicaulis and P. sclerophylla). Two species, P. longiflora and P. micrantha, are assumed extinct because extensive fieldwork has not been able to relocate the plants. Variation in leaf morphology was observed in Leptostylis gatopensis, which is by consequence considered as synonym of Pycnandra filipes. Two additional taxa belong to this subgenus, but cannot presently be described because sufficient fertile material is unavailable. Subgenus Wagapensia is monotypic and readily distinguished on the basis of its subverticillate leaves and leafy shoots usually borne beneath apical clusters of leaves, a character common in Sapotaceae but unique in Pycnandra. The members of P. subgenus Leptostylis occur mainly in maquis vegetation or sclerophyllous forests on ultramafic soil, but three taxa are confined to calcareous areas. Mining activities in New Caledonian ultramafic areas are extensive and because some of these species are naturally rare, IUCN Red List assessments are provided to all species. Pycnandra grandifolia and P. wagapensis are assigned the IUCN status Vulnerable, P. amplexicaulis and P. sclerophylla are considered Endangered, P. filipes subspecies multiflora and P. goroensis are considered to be Critically Endangered, whereas P. micrantha and P. longiflora appear to be extinct.

A new species of Pouteria from the Atlantic Forest area of the northern littoral of Bahia State, Brazil, is described and illus- trated. Pouteria synsepala, whose epithet refers to the basally united sepals, a feature rare in the genus, resembles P. salicifo- lia in its narrowly elliptic leaves, but differs by the angle of secondary veins in relation to the midrib, pentamerous flowers, and stamens adnate to the corolla tube from the base to the tube orifice. Micromorphological studies revealed different pat- terns of stomate and wax morphology in the two species, providing further justification for the recognition of P. synsepala.

Biogeography of Sideroxylon (Sapotoideae) and whether the satellite genera Argania and Spiniluma merit recognition are revisited. The hypothesis of an African origin with a subsequent migration to Central America via Europe and the North Atlantic landbridge is challenged. We analysed 58 accessions of trnH-psbA and ITS sequences in a fossil- calibrated, relaxed lognormal clock model with BEAST for phylogenetic and biogeographic inference. Argania spinosa (L.) Skeels from Morocco must be united with Sideroxylon, whereas S. discolor Radcl.-Sm. and S. oxyacanthum Baill. belong to subfamily Chrysophylloideae and may be recognised as Spiniluma. The divergence time estimate suggests that Sideroxylon originated and first diversified in Central America 56.3–52.2 million years ago, contemporaneous with the landbridge, but an archipelago of islands and the Tethys Seaway halted eastward expansion to Africa until c. 20 million years ago, i.e. 25 million years after establishment in Africa. Range expansion of Sideroxylon was therefore not powered by the landbridge, and a long-distance dispersal from Central America to Africa is proposed. The establishment of the Gomphotherium landbridge between Africa and Eurasia at 19 million years ago provided a land-migration route to Europe and Asia, which is reconcilable with the extension of Xantolis into Asia. Sideroxylon has colonised Socotra by over-water dispersal in the Gulf of Aden, Macaronesia, Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands.

Pycnandra (Sapotaceae), the largest endemic genus in New Caledonia, comprises 66 species classified in six subgenera. We tested phylogenetic relationships and a proposed infrageneric classification by sampling 60 species for sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA (ETS, ITS, RPB2) and plastid DNA (trnH–psbA) and nine morphological characters. Data were analysed with Bayesian inference, parsimony jackknifing and lineage through time. We recovered a phylogenetic tree supporting the recognition of six proposed subgenera (Achradotypus, Leptostylis, Pycnandra, Sebertia, Trouettia and Wagapensia). Because a subgeneric classification is used, the nomenclature will be stable when the members are transferred to Pycnandra. Morphological traits were optimized in the BEAST analysis, adding evidence to earlier work that morphology has limited value for successfully diagnosing groups in Sapotaceae. We confirm a previously suspected case of cryptic species that exhibit the same morphological features and require the same abiotic conditions, but are distantly related in the phylogenetic tree. We detected two possible new cases of cryptic sibling species that might warrant recognition. A slowdown in speciation rate in several genera has been suggested as evidence that New Caledonia was once submerged after rifting from Australia. Plotting lineages through time reveals two important intervals at 7.5–8.6 Ma and present to 1.5 Ma, when net molecular diversification within the genus was zero. This indicates that the genus presently has reached a dynamic equilibrium, providing additional evidence that New Caledonia is an old Darwinian island, being submerged during the Eocene and colonized after re-emergence c. 37 Ma.

Pycnandra Benth. (Sapotaceae) is the largest endemic genus in New Caledonia and is subdivided into six subgenera. An addition of five species are here described in four subgenera, viz. P. comptonioides Swenson & Munzinger, P. kouakouensis Swenson & Munzinger, P. montana Swenson & Munzinger, P. poindimiensis Swenson & Munzinger and P. versicolor Swenson & Munzinger. Another seven to nine taxa are discussed but remain undescribed owing to the lack of adequate collections (and may remain undescribed pending the interpretation of the Nagoya Protocol). Pycnandra is characterised by a non-areolate higher leaf venation, sepals glabrous on the inner surface, no staminodes, and a single-seeded fruit. The members occur in a wide range of habitats and most species have very specific substrate requirements, growing on ultramafic, non-ultramafic or calcareous substrates. Almost 40 species are restricted to ultramafic substrates and many are now at risk of extinction because of deforestation, deliberately set fires and mining. We provide a systematic synopsis with keys to subgenera and species, phenology, substrate preferences, altitudinal ranges and preliminary IUCN Red List assessments for all described taxa. Four of the five new species are assessed as Critically Endangered. Pycnandra versicolor is in urgent need of conservation management beacuse its entire distribution is inside an active mine on the Koniambo massif.

Aim Panbiogeographers suggest that the biome in New Caledonia is of vicariant origin, dating from the Cretaceous – rather than being the result of repeated dispersal since c. 37 Ma, when the area is postulated to have re-emerged after c. 15 Ma of submergence. Distributions of the plant family Sapotaceae were used as a model system to test this, and to elucidate the probabilities of ancestral areas, all phrased in six hypotheses.

Location Australasia and the Pacific.

Methods We used a recently published dataset with extensive sampling (168 terminals) from the subfamily Chrysophylloideae and three nuclear ribosomal DNA markers. Phylogenetic divergence times and ancestral areas were estimated in a Bayesian framework using beast, a relaxed clock method, and with fossil calibration points. Area transition probabilities were modelled using a reversible rate matrix, assigning equal prior probability to each transition between two areas.

Results Our analyses suggest that Sapotaceae arrived and diversified in New Caledonia nine times during the period 4.2–33.1 Ma. All crown-node radiations occurred in the Miocene or Pliocene, with stem splits reaching back into the Oligocene. Australia and New Guinea are the most likely source areas for Sapotaceae in New Caledonia, but this archipelago has never acted as a stepping stone for Sapotaceae to disperse into the Pacific.

Main conclusions Repeated dispersal is the only mechanism able to explain the range expansion of Sapotaceae into New Caledonia. The family has successfully colonized the main island nine times since its re-emergence in the Eocene. We reject the panbiogeographical hypotheses that representatives of Sapotaceae in New Caledonia originated in the Cretaceous, differentiated due to vicariance, and were of Pacific origin. We therefore argue that New Caledonia is an old Darwinian island. The Pacific has been colonized repeatedly and terminal lineages are never older than the islands they inhabit (except for Hawaii). Chrysophylloideae extended across Wallace’s Line into Southeast Asia around 20 Ma, when the Australian continent came into juxtaposition with Eurasia.

Generic limits within subfamily Chrysophylloideae (Sapotaceae) from Oceania and Southeast Asia are reconciled based on a molecular phylogeny. We analysed sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA (ETS, ITS) and the nuclear gene RPB2 with BEAST and parsimony jackknifing, using a sample of 168 terminals. Eight morphological characters were traced on a condensed majority-rule consensus tree to identify diagnostic character combinations for the genera. Accepted genera with character support are Magodendron, Pichonia, Planchonella, Pycnandra, Sersalisia, and Van-royena, while Beccariella and Niemeyera require amendment. Beccariella, a widely distributed group, is an illegitimate later homonym and we propose that the genus Pleioluma is resurrected in its place. The Australian genus Niemeyera is paraphyletic, but it is rendered monophyletic by reinstating Amorphospermum for N. antiloga. Beauvisagea, Blabeia, Fontbrunea, and Krausella are all segregates of Planchonella and rejected, while Wokoia is a later synonym of Pichonia. Planchonella baillonii, an endemic species of New Caledonia, is the sole member of an old lineage and firmly placed as the sister to a clade comprising the other congeners. Planchonella sandwicensis, a Hawaiian species, previously proposed to be a distinct genus, is a member of Planchonella. In the Pacific, P. tahitensis (including P. grayana) is a polymorphic species, widely distributed and adapted to a wide range of habitats. We provide a generic key (excluding Xantolis), diagnostic character combinations for all genera, and the necessary taxonomic combinations for Pichonia, Planchonella, Pleioluma, and Sersalisia to render each genus monophyletic.

Recent phylogenetic studies in Sapotaceae have demonstrated that many genera need to be redefined to better correspond to natural groups. The Neotropical genus Pradosia is believed to be monophyletic and includes 26 recognized species. Here we reconstruct the generic phylogeny by a species-tree approach using ∗BEAST, 21 recognized species (36 accessions), sequence data from three nuclear markers (ITS, ETS, and RPB2), a relaxed lognormal clock model, and a fossil calibration. We explore the evolution of five selected morphological characters, reconstruct the evolution of habitat (white-sand vs. clayish soils) preference, as well as space and time by using a recently developed continuous diffusion model in biogeography. We find Pradosia to be monophyletic in its current circumscription and to have originated in the Amazon basin at ∼ 47.5 Ma. Selected morphological characters are useful to readily distinguish three clades. Preferences to white-sand and/or clay are somewhat important for the majority of species, but speciation has not been powered by habitat shifts. Pradosia brevipes is a relative young species (∼ 1.3 Ma) that has evolved a unique geoxylic life strategy within Pradosia and is restricted to savannahs. Molecular dating and phylogenetic pattern indicate that Pradosia reached the Brazilian Atlantic coast at least three times: at 34.4 Ma (P. longipedicellata), at 11.7 Ma (P. kuhlmannii), and at 3.9 Ma (weakly supported node within the red-flowered clade).

We provide a systematic update of Pradosia (Sapotaceae, Chrysophylloideae), including overall morphology, a key to all species, comprehensive morphological descriptions, geographic distributions, and important characteristics for each species. Phyloge- netic analyses based on molecular data demonstrated that the genus is monophyletic and includes three main clades. Twenty-three species of Pradosia are accepted, which are mostly distributed in lowland rainforests on either white-sand or clayish soils in tropical South America. A rotate corolla with a short tube, lack of staminodes, a drupaceous fruit with plano-convex cotyledons, an exserted radicle below the cotyledons, and the absence of endosperm are diagnostic for the genus. Two names are reduced into synonymy, viz. Pradosia atroviolacea Ducke, syn. of P. grisebachii (Pierre) T. D. Penn., and Pradosia verrucosa Ducke, syn. of P. glaziovii (Pierre) T. D. Penn. The affinity of P. argentea (Kunth) T. D. Penn., a species known only from the type collection, remains uncertain and for now excluded from the genus.