The

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

Amorpheae is an early-branching

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

within the

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

subfamily

Faboideae The Faboideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. An acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae, or Papilionaceae when this group of plants is treated as a family. This subfamily is wide ...

or Papilionaceae. It is found from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. It was recently found to belong in a larger clade known informally as the

dalbergioids The dalbergioids are an early-branching monophyletic clade of the flowering plant subfamily Faboideae or Papilionaceae. They are pantropical, particularly being found in the neotropics and sub-Saharan Africa. This clade is consistently resolved a ...

''sensu lato''. This tribe is consistently resolved as

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

in molecular phylogenetic analyses. It is estimated to have arisen 36.9 ± 3.0 million years ago (in the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

). A node-based definition for Amorpheae is: "the MRCA of ''

Psorothamnus arborescens ''Psorothamnus arborescens'' is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Mojave indigo bush. Distribution ''Psorothamnus arborescens'' is native to southwestern North America, where it can be found in many type ...

'' and '' Eysenhardtia orthocarpa''." The tribe exhibits the following morphological

synapomorphies In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to have ...

: "epidermal glands throughout the plant body; dry, indehiscent fruits that are single-seeded; and terminal inflorescences."

Subclades and genera

Amorphoids

The amorphoids can be distinguished from the daleoids on the basis of their non-papilionaceous flowers. * ''

Amorpha ''Amorpha'' is a genus of plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. All the species are native to North America, from southern Canada, most of the United States (US), and northern Mexico. They are commonly known as false indigo. The name ''Amorpha'' ...

'' L. * ''

Apoplanesia ''Apoplanesia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae The Faboideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. An acceptable alternative name for the subfamily ...

'' C. Presl * ''

Errazurizia ''Errazurizia'' (dunebroom) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae The Faboideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. An acceptable alternative name for t ...

'' Phil. * ''

Eysenhardtia ''Eysenhardtia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae. Members of the genus are commonly known as kidneywoods. Species ''Eysenhardtia'' comprises the following species: * ''Eysenhardtia ade ...

'' Kunth * '' Parryella'' Torr. & A. Gray

Daleoids

The daleoids can be distinguished from the amorphoids on the basis of their generally papilionaceous corollas. * ''

Dalea ''Dalea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as prairie clover or indigo bush. Its name honors English apothecary Samuel Dale (1659–1739). They are native to the Western hemi ...

'' L. * ''

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

'' Liebm. * ''

Psorothamnus ''Psorothamnus'' is a genus of plants in the legume family. These are shrubs and small trees. Many are known by the general common name indigo bush. Some are referred to as daleas, as this genus was once included in genus ''Dalea''. These are ge ...

'' Rydb.

References

Fabaceae tribes {{Faboideae-stub