Systematics and Evolution of the Zingiberales
While my lab is interested in Systematics in general, we are currently focusing on projects in the order Zingiberales. Programs looking at evolutionary patterns in the Heliconiaceae (Heliconia) and Zingiberaceae (Alpinioideae, Zingiberoideae) are underway. The results of these systematic studies are interpreted with respect to pollination biology, floral development, biogeography and molecular evolution at the ordinal level.
Below shows our recent contributions to a molecular phylogeny for the Alpinieae (Zingiberaceae), work in collaboration with John Kress, Mark Newman and Axel Poulsen.
The following Undergraduate Researchers are involved in Phylogenetics of Heliconiaceae and Zingiberaceae projects: