The Mirbelioids are an informal subdivision of the plant family Fabaceae that includes the former tribes Bossiaeeae and Mirbelieae. They are consistently recovered as a monophyletic clade in molecular phylogenies.[1][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] The Mirbelioids arose 48.4 ± 1.3 million years ago (in the early Eocene).[10] Members of this clade are mostly ericoid (sclerophyllous) shrubs with yellow and red ('egg and bacon') flowers found in Australia, Tasmania, and Papua-New Guinea.[11][12] 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.[2] Members of this clade exhibit unusual embryology compared to other legumes, either enlarged antipodal cells in the embryo sac or the production of multiple embryo sacs.[3][4][13][14] There has been a shift from bee pollination to bird pollination several times in this clade.[15] Mirbelioids produce quinolizidine alkaloids,[16] but unlike most papilionoids, they do not produce isoflavones.[17] Many of the Mirbelioids have pseudoraceme inflorescences.[18]
| Mirbelioids | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Mirbelia floribunda | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Clade: | Meso-Papilionoideae |
| Clade: | Non-protein amino acid-accumulating clade |
| Clade: | Mirbelioids Wojciechowski et al. 2004[1][2] |
| Type genus | |
| Mirbelia Sm. | |
| Genera and subclades | |
See text | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Genera
The Mirbelioids have been circumscribed to include the following genera:[5][19]
Giant antipodals group
- Aenictophyton A. T. Lee
- Bossiaea Vent.
- Daviesia Sm.
- Erichsenia Hemsl.
- Gompholobium Sm.
- Goodia Salisb.
- Muelleranthus Hutch.
- Paragoodia I. Thomps.[20]
- Platylobium Sm.
- Ptychosema Benth. ex Lindl.
- Sphaerolobium Sm.
- Viminaria Sm.
Multiple embryo-sac group
Basal grade
Callistachys group
Oxylobium grade
- Chorizema Labill.
- Mirbelia Sm.
- Oxylobium Andrews
- Podolobium R. Br.
Pultenaea group
- Almaleea Crisp & P. H. Weston
- Aotus Sm.
- Dillwynia Sm.
- Euchilopsis F. Muell.
- Eutaxia R. Br.
- Latrobea Sm.
- Phyllota (DC.) Benth.
- Pultenaea Sm.
- Stonesiella Crisp & P. H. Weston
- Urodon Turcz.
It has been proposed that many of these genera be subsumed into Pultenaea.[21][22][23]