Data from: Phylogenetics, delimitation and historical biogeography of the pantropical tree genus Thespesia (Malvaceae, Gossypieae)

Thespesia consists of 16 species of trees and shrubs from Southeast
Asia–Oceania, Africa and America, the most well known being T. populnea, a
small tree of tropical coastal areas around the world. Phylogenetic
relationships in the genus and among its allies in tribe Gossypieae were
inferred using three plastid and two nuclear regions to ascertain its
generic delimitation and explore its biogeographical history.
Maximum-likelihood and Bayesian analyses confirmed that Thespesia is not
monophyletic and, based on these results, Azanza is reinstated to
accommodate the two species previously placed in Thespesia section Lampas.
Dating analyses and ancestral range estimation indicated that Thespesia
s.s. most likely originated in Southeast Asia–Oceania c. 30 Mya, but
extant species did not begin to differentiate until the late Miocene. Two
dispersal events, one into Africa c. 11 Mya and another into America
(Antilles) c. 9 Mya, gave rise to the African and the Greater Antillean
endemics, respectively. The two most widespread hydrochorous species, T.
populnea and T. populneoides, originated in Southeast Asia–Oceania from
where they spread to other parts of the world. Our analysis also indicated
a much earlier origin than previously reported for Eumalvoideae and its
tribes, suggesting that vicariance might have had an important role early
in the history of these groups.