The phylogenetic relationships in Coptis are highly consistent with the results of Xiang et al. , but are usually resolved with greater support for clades found therein. Our results do not support Taiwanese C. morii as sister to three Japanese species (C. ramose (Makino) Tamura, C. quinquefolia and C. trifoliolata (Makino) Makino), and instead suggest that C. morii is sister to C. quinquefolia, although with moderate support (PP = 0.71). Using the split age of ca. 16.23 Ma (95% HPD: 8.51–25.96) between Coptis and Xanthorhiza , we obtained a similar age estimate for the split (ca. 15.47 Ma; 95% HPD: 11.47–19.37; Fig. 2).