The application of a cladistic analysis to the classification and identification of Weinmannia (Cunoniaceae) in Madagascar and the Comoro Islands

Weinmannia species from Madagascar are currently difficult to identify with available published accounts due to both a paucity of qualitative characters used in identification keys, and a large number of undescribed species. However, newly recognized morphological characters, especially of the inflorescence, can be used to diagnose Malagasy sect. and species-groups. These characters, used previously for a comprehensive cladistic analysis of the genus Weinmannia (Bradford 1998), are applied here in diagnoses and a key to the resulting sections and species-groups of Weinmannia in Madagascar.