Earlier studies indicated that the genus Nectandra, currently the second-largest genus of the Neotropical Lauraceae, might be diphyletic in its traditional circumscription, but the evidence was not quite conclusive. Our phylogenetic analyses based on nuclear (ITS) and chloroplast (psbA-trnH) sequences of 45 Nectandraspecies as well as 42 representatives of 18 genera of the core Lauraceae (Ocoteacomplex, Laureae, Aiouea, Asian Cinnamomumand Perseagroups) confirm the suspicion that Nectandrais diphyletic. The two groups, Nectandras.str. and the N. coriaceagroup, are each well supported in the maximum parsimony and Bayesian analyses, but they are not sister to each other. Nectandras.str. is sister to Pleurothyrium, and the clade including Nectandras.str. and Pleurothyriumis very likely closer to the dioecious taxa of the Ocoteacomplex. The N. coriaceagroup, on the other hand, appears to be closer to bisexual taxa known as the Ocotea helicterifoliagroup. In addition, Nectandras.str. is characterized by a large deletion in the psbA-trnHspacer compared to all other core Lauraceae, including its sister group Pleurothyrium. Considering these facts, Nectandracannot be maintained in the traditional sense. We therefore transfer the species of the N. coriaceagroup to the oldest generic name applied to this group, Damburneya. On the basis of fossil records from the American subcontinents and in accordance with previous phylogenetic and molecular clock studies we suggest a scenario of a climate-driven migration from North to South America, with a subsequent rapid radiation of Nectandras.str. in South America.