ADA clade

The ADA clade is the earliest-branching monophyletic clade of the flowering plant subfamily Faboideae. Evidence for this clade was sparse until recent molecular phylogenies that included basal faboid genera that previously had been poorly sampled.

Description

This clade is composed of a morphologically eclectic collection of genera. It is one of only three clades in Faboideae that lack the 50-Kb plastid DNA inversion that is characteristic of the Meso-Papilionoideae. The name of this clade is informal and is not assumed to have any particular taxonomic rank like the names authorized by the ICBN or the ICPN. The clade does not currently have a node-based definition and no morphological synapomorphies have been identified.