Rediscovery and Phylogenomic Placement of Feliciadamia stenocarpa (Feliciadamieae, Melastomataceae): Assessing Gene Tree Discordance

The phylogenetic placement of Feliciadamia stenocarpa, a rare and endemic species from Guinea within the Melastomataceae family, has remained uncertain due to limited molecular data and lack of recent collections. Following recent field expeditions, we obtained samples for phylogenomic analysis using both target capture and genome skimming approaches. Phylogenetic reconstructions, including 203 taxa, revealed significant discordance between coalescent and concatenated nuclear tree topologies. The coalescent species tree positioned Feliciadamia as sister to Dissochaeteae, while the concatenated tree nested it within this group. Genome skimming analyses of nine selected taxa around the discordant subtree further clarified Feliciadamia as sister to Dissochaeteae in nuclear datasets, though plastid data placed it within Dissochaeteae. Gene tree discordance and network analyses indicated potential hybridization and reticulate evolution in this lineage. Morphological examination, including new seed morphology data, led to an expanded description of F. stenocarpa, and we preliminarily assessed it as endangered.