Article

The position of the genus Chamaesciadium C. A. Meyer (Apiaceae) was investigated with a phylogenetic analysis based on the ribosomal internal transcribed spacers. Parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian support analyses were adopted. _Chamaesciadium resulted nested within tribe Careae. The results indicated that the genera resulting closer to Chamaesciadium were Carum s. s. (the part of the genus to which Carum carvi belongs), Fuernrohria and Grammosciadium: these genera clustered together in a clade with 100% bayesian and bootstrap support. This group was sister the other genera of tribe Careae here considered (Rhabdosciadium, Falcaria, Aegokeras, Aegopodium) with 100% Bayesian and 91% bootstrap support. Tribe Careae resulted outgroup to tribe Pyramidoptereae and other species of genus Carum resulted nested in this last tribe rather than in tribe Careae. The possible previously indicated relationship of Chamaesciadium to Pycnocycla was excluded at least with reference to Pycnocycla aucherana, since this species clustered far away from tribes Careae and Pyramidoptereae resulting more strictly related, among the considered species, to Trachyspermum aethusifolium.