The Melastomataceae are the eighth largest group of flowering plants with more than 5600 species, most of which grow in the New World tropics. Our lab focuses in particular on the historical evolution of paleotropical lineages. Our research aims to explore the factors that may have contributed to the extreme diversity of Melastomataceae by using phylogenomics to investigate the geographic origin and subsequent movements of lineages across continents and environments, the evolution of morphological and genetic features, and associated diversification rate shifts throughout the worldwide distribution.
NSF-DEB 2002270 Collaborative Research: Resolving the relationships of Melastomataceae, one of the world’s most diverse flowering plant radiations
Resmi, S., Nampy, S., Cellinese, N., Krishnapriya, M.P. 2023. Sonerila lundinii, a new species of Melastomataceae from southern Western Ghats with notes on Sonerila pedunculosa, a less known taxon from Sri Lanka. Rheedea 32: 280-287.
Amarasinghe, P., Barve, N., Kathriarachchi, H., Loiselle, B., Cellinese, N. 2021. Niche dynamics of Memecylon in Sri Lanka: distribution patterns, climate change effects, and conservation priorities. Ecology and Evolution doi:10.1002/ece3.8415.
Amarasinghe, P., Pham, P., Stone, R.D., Cellinese, N. 2021. Discordance in a South African Memecylon clade (Melastomataceae): evidence for reticulate evolution. International Journal of Plant Sciences 182: 682-694.
Amarasinghe, P., Joshi, S., Page, N., Wijedasa, L.S., Merello, M., Kathriarachchi, H., Stone, R.D., Judd, W., Kodandaramaiah, U., Cellinese, N. 2021. Evolution and biogeography of Memecylon. American Journal of Botany 108: 628-646.
Jantzen, J.R.*, Amarasinghe, P.*, Folk, R.A., Reginato, R., Michelangeli, F.A., Soltis, D.E., Cellinese, N.+, Soltis, P.S.+ 2020. A two-tier bioinformatic pipeline to develop probes for target capture of nuclear loci with applications in Melastomataceae. Applications in Plant Sciences 8(5): e11345. *Equal contributors; +Co-senior authors.
Wangwasit, K., N. Cellinese, M. Norsaengsri. 2010. Phyllagathis nanakorniana(Melastomataceae), a new species from Thailand. Blumea – Biodiversity, Evolution and Biogeography of Plants 55:246-248.
Cellinese, N. 2007. Two new species in the genus Poikilogyne (Melastomataceae) from Papua New Guinea. Novon 17: 20-23.
Cellinese, N. 2004. Melastomataceae. In: The Plants of Mount Kinabalu, 5. Dicotyledon Families Magnoliaceae to Winteraceae (Beaman, J.H. & C. Anderson, eds). Natural History Publications (Borneo) & Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Cellinese, N. 2003. Revision of the genus Phyllagathis Blume (Melastomataceae: Sonerileae). II. The species of Borneo and Natuna Island. Blumea 48(1): 69-97.
Cellinese, N. 2002. Revision of the genus Phyllagathis Blume (Melastomataceae: Sonerileae). I. The species of Burma, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra. Blumea 47(3): 463-492.
Renner, S.S., Clausing, G., Cellinese, N., Meyer, K. 2001. Melastomataceae, in K. Larsen and I. Nielsen (eds.), Flora of Thailand, 7: 412-496. Royal Forest Department, Bangkok, Thailand.
Cellinese, N. 1997. A new Sonerila (Melastomataceae) from Central Kalimantan, Borneo. Novon 7(2): 103-105.
Cellinese, N., Renner, S.S. 1997. New species and combinations of Sonerila and Phyllagathis (Melastomataceae) from Thailand. Novon 7(2): 106-112.
Cellinese, N. 1997. Notes on the systematics and biogeography of the Sonerila generic alliance (Melastomataceae) with special focus on fruit characters. Tropical Biodiversity 4(1): 83-93.