Résumé
The classification of the legume family proposed here addresses the
long-known non-monophyly of the traditionally recognised subfamily
Caesalpinioideae, by recognising six robustly supported monophyletic
subfamilies. This new classification uses as its framework the most
comprehensive phylogenetic analyses of legumes to date, based on plastid
matK gene sequences, and including near-complete sampling of genera (698
of the currently recognised 765 genera) and ca. 20% (3696) of known
species. The matK gene region has been the most widely sequenced across
the legumes, and in most legume lineages, this gene region is sufficiently
variable to yield well-supported clades. This analysis resolves the same
major clades as in other phylogenies of whole plastid and nuclear gene
sets (with much sparser taxon sampling). Our analysis improves upon
previous studies that have used large phylogenies of the Leguminosae for
addressing evolutionary questions, because it maximises generic sampling
and provides a phylogenetic tree that is based on a fully curated set of
sequences that are vouchered and taxonomically validated. The phylogenetic
trees obtained and the underlying data are available to browse and
download, facilitating subsequent analyses that require evolutionary
trees. Here we propose a new community-endorsed classification of the
family that reflects the phylogenetic structure that is consistently
resolved and recognises six subfamilies in Leguminosae: a recircumscribed
Caesalpinioideae DC., Cercidoideae Legume Phylogeny Working Group (stat.
nov.), Detarioideae Burmeist., Dialioideae Legume Phylogeny Working Group
(stat. nov.), Duparquetioideae Legume Phylogeny Working Group (stat.
nov.), and Papilionoideae DC. The traditionally recognised subfamily
Mimosoideae is a distinct clade nested within the recircum-scribed
Caesalpinioideae and is referred to informally as the mimosoid clade
pending a forthcoming formal tribal and/or clade-based classification of
the new Caesalpinioideae. We provide a key for subfamily identification,
descriptions with diagnostic charactertistics for the subfamilies, figures
illustrating their floral and fruit diversity, and lists of genera by
subfamily. This new classification of Leguminosae represents a consensus
view of the international legume systematics community; it invokes both
compromise and practicality of use.