An approach to the chemosystematics of the genus Cucumis L.

Abstract

Phylogenetic relationships in the order Cucurbitales as well as the phytogeny and classification of its taxonomically most problematic family, Cucurbitaceae, have been the focus of several studies. Taxonomists over the years have differed on the delimitation of Cucumis L. and numerous taxonomie treatments have been proposed since the pioneering work of Linnaeus (1753). Using maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian inference analyses of sequence data from the nuclear and chloroplast genomes, the genus Cucumis has recently been recircumscribed. Among the various chemical classes elaborated in plants, the foliar phenolics express greater stability in general and contribute significantly to the chemosystematics of both, angiosperms and gymnosperms. Hence, it is felt that an evaluation of the available literature on the foliar flavonoid constitution of the recently defined Cucumis would be relevant. This paper, therefore, analyses the distribution of the phytophenols in the taxa to ascertain the characteristically common foliar marker biochemical of the genus in addition to an attempt to justify the inclusion of the genus Mukia within Cucumis.