Mimosoideae

The Mimosoideae are a traditional subfamily of trees, herbs, lianas, and shrubs in the pea family (Fabaceae) that mostly grow in tropical and subtropical climates. They are typically characterized by having radially symmetric flowers, with petals that are twice divided (valvate) in bud and with numerous showy, prominent stamens. Recent work on phylogenetic relationships has found that the Mimosoideae form a clade nested with subfamily Caesalpinioideae and the most recent classification by The Legume Phylogeny Working Group refer to them as the Mimosoid clade within subfamily Caesalpinioideae. The group includes about 40 genera and 2,500 species. Some classification systems, for example the Cronquist system, treat the Fabaceae in a narrow sense, raising the Mimisoideae to the rank of family as Mimosaceae. The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group treats Fabaceae in the broad sense. The Mimosoideae were historically subdivided into four tribes (Acacieae, Ingeae, Mimoseae, and Mimozygantheae). However, modern molecular phylogenetics has shown that these groupings were artificial. Several informal subgroups have been proposed, but not yet described formally as tribes. Additionally, the genus Acacia was recently segregated into five genera (Acacia sensu stricto, Acaciella, Mariosousa, Senegalia, and Vachellia). Adenanthera group Adenanthera L. Amblygonocarpus Harms Calpocalyx Harms Pseudoprosopis Harms Tetrapleura Benth. Xylia Benth. Entada group Elephantorrhiza Benth. Entada Adans. Piptadeniastrum Brenan Newtonia group Fillaeopsis Harms Indopiptadenia Brenan Lemurodendron Villiers & P. Guinet Newtonia Baill. Prosopis group Prosopis L. Xerocladia Harv. Mimozyganthus group Mimozyganthus Burkart Piptadeniopsis Burkart Prosopidastrum Burkart Leucaena group Desmanthus Willd. Kanaloa Lorence & K.R.Wood Leucaena Benth. Schleinitzia Warb. ex Nevling & Niezgoda Dichrostachys group Alantsilodendron Villiers Calliandropsis H.M.Hern. & P.Guinet Dichrostachys (DC.) Wight & Arn. Gagnebina Neck. ex DC. Unassigned Aubrevillea Pellegr.