Philip Cantino, Ph.D.

     My research involves reconstructing the evolutionary history of groups of organisms and developing a system of classification that reflects phylogeny.  Studies of comparative morphology and anatomy provide character data that are subjected to a computer-assisted cladistic analysis.  The resulting phylogenetic hypothesis is tested by similar analyses of other data sets (e.g., gene sequence variation).   A classification is then developed in which the well supported clades resolved through these analyses are recognized as taxa.

     My specialty groups are the plant families Labiatae (mints) and Verbenaceae (vervains).  Cladistic analyses of morphological data and sequence variation in the chloroplast gene rbcL have shown that neither family is monophyletic as traditionally delimited.  As a result of this research, an alternative circumscription of these families has been adopted in which both are clades. &n bsp; My current work focuses on 1) intergeneric relationships and phylogenetic classification within the Labiatae; and 2) developing a new code of phylogenetic nomenclature as an alternative to our current "Linnaean" system, which is not well suited for naming clades.

Selected References:

• Cantino, P.D. (2000) Phylogenetic nomenclature: addressing some concerns. Taxon 49:85-93.

• Cantino P.D., H.N. Bryant, K. de Queiroz, M.J. Donoghue, T. Eriksson, D.M. Hillis, and M.S.Y. Lee (1999) Species names in phylogenetic nomenclature. Syst. Biol. 48:790-807.

• Cantino, P.D. (1999) A new species of Monochilus (Lamiaceae) from Brazil. Novon 9:323-324.

• Cantino, P.D., S.J. Wagstaff and R.G. Olmstead (1999) Caryopteris (Lamiaceae) and the conflict between phylogenetic and pragmatic considerations in botanical nomenclature. Syst. Bot. 23:369-386.

• Cantino, P.D. (1998) Binomials, hyphenated uninomials, and phylogenetic nomenclature. Taxon 47:425-429.

• Cantino, P.D. and S.J. Wagstaff (1998) A reexamination of North American Satureja s.l. (Lamiaceae) in light of molecular evidence. Brittonia 50:63-70.