Abstract: We investigated relationships of five species of Pinellia (Araceae ) using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique. The data of binary matrix were analyzed using Poggene and SPSS software. And a neighbourjoining tree was generated . Based on the results, several suggestions are made as follows. Firstly, P. yaoluopingensis and P. pedatisecta are closely related and the former may be a specialized form of the latter species. Secondly, P. dedatisecta is significantly different from other species of the genus with high genetic diversity. Thirdly, P. peltata and P. cordata
are sister to each other. Last, in terms of leave morphology, P. peltata is significantly different from the rest species while in terms of AFLP data it is not an entirely independent lineage.

Key words: Pinellia