Symposium: Phylogeny of Asteridae, Richmond, VA, August 1990

分类学上理解的广泛的相互关系 开花植物群既能促进又能限制 形态、生理和生态的比较研究 植物 在分类群被很好地取样的地方， 它们的进化或系谱关系导致 同源结构或生物化学的富有成效的比较 路径或生活史。 当分类群不为人所知时， 经常在虚假的相关形式之间进行比较， 关于是否衔接或 真正的进化关系解释了 正在研究的形式或功能。 拉里·赫福德博士 明尼苏达大学组织了一次大型研讨会， 在弗吉尼亚州里士满召开的美国植物学会会议， 关于进化关系的主题， 海星亚纲的高等双子叶植物，包括 向日葵，马铃薯和茜草科，其中最大的在世界上 世界物种的数量。 14名发言者，包括4名来自欧洲的发言者， 反过来，形态数据，从生活和化石植物， 分子数据，从最近对这些植物的DNA分析， 确定我们理解中一致和不一致的地方 的Asteridae的繁殖和目标项目， 实现分辨率。 已经计划出版了 会议的审议，因此，结果将成为广泛的 提供给所有感兴趣的植物学家。

Taxonomic understanding of the broad interrelationships of groups of flowering plants can both facilitate and constrain comparative study of the morphology, physiology, and ecology of plants. Where taxa have been well sampled, deep knowledge of their evolutionary or genealogical relationships leads to fruitful comparisons of homologous structures or biochemical pathways or life-histories. When the taxa are not well known, comparisons are often made between spuriously related forms, and arguments may perpetuate endlessly over whether convergence or true evolutionary relationship accounts for the similarity in form or function under study. Dr. Larry Hufford of the University of Minnesota has organized a large-scale symposium for the Botanical Society of America meetings in Richmond, Virginia, on the topic of the evolutionary relationships of the highly advanced dicots of the subclass Asteridae, including the sunflower, potato, and madder families, among the largest in the world in numbers of species. Fourteen speakers, including four from Europe, will address in turn morphological data, from living and fossil plants, and molecular data, from recent DNA analyses of these plants, to identify areas of agreement and disagreement in our understanding of the phylogeny of Asteridae and to target projects necessary to achieve resolution. Plans have already been made for publication of the meeting's deliberations, so the results will become widely available to all interested botanists.