The complete chloroplast genome of Epimedium brevicornu Maxim (Berberidaceae), a traditional Chinese medicine herb

Epimedium brevicornu Maxim. is a traditional Chinese medicine herb with good effects on many diseases. In the present paper, the complete chloroplast genome of E. brevicornu was sequenced. The complete chloroplast genome of E. brevicornu was 159572 bp in length with 38.83% GC content, including four distinct regions: large single-copy region (86535 bp), small single-copy region (17641 bp), and a pair of inverted repeat regions (27698 bp). The chloroplast genome encoded 112 unique genes, which included 78 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNA genes, and 4 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis with the previously reported chloroplast genomes of Epimedium showed that E. brevicornu with small flowers at first clustered with large-flowered E. acuminatum into a strongly supported branch, but not with Epimedium species having similar floral characters.