Molvray 9629231 Understanding relationships among living things is useful to any discipline associated with biology. Once relationships are known, properties of poorly known organisms can be predicted from their better known relatives. Such basic information is used in forestry, agriculture, and medicine. Relationships among Gastrodieae, specifically, are of interest for two reasons. The first is that relationships in the tribe are very difficult to reconstruct, and solving this puzzle will increase our knowledge of good methodologies for phylogenetic reconstruction generally. The second is that Gastrodieae occupy a critical position at the base of the orchid family tree. Depending on the correct position of those basal branches, higher branches in the tree_including horticulturally important genera_may be realigned, thus providing us with a more accurate picture of the evolutionary sequences in this important group.
