Genistoids

The Genistoids are one of the major radiations in the plant family Fabaceae. Members of this phylogenetic clade are primarily found in the Southern hemisphere. Some genera are pollinated by birds. The genistoid clade is consistently resolved as monophyletic in molecular phylogenetic analyses. It is estimated to have arisen 56.4 ± 0.2 million years ago (in the Paleocene). A node-based definition for the genistoids is: "the MRCA of Poecilanthe parviflora and Lupinus argenteus." One morphological synapomorphy has been tentatively identified: production of quinolizidine alkaloids. Some genera also accumulate pyrrolizidine. A new genus, to be segregated from Clathrotropis, has also been proposed to occupy an undetermined position within the genistoid clade.