Nuclear DNA sequence data (Internal Transcribed Spacer 1 of the 45S rDNA cistron) and morphological data were used for phylogenetic studies of the tribe Brongniartieae (Fabaceae), a tribe of four Australian and two tropical American genera. Alignment of the ITS-1 region was largely unambiguous and the phylogeny produced using parsimony methods had a high consistency index. Morphological data were mostly congruent with the molecular data and were informative for some nodes where molecular data were lacking. Combining molecular and morphological data resulted in a well-resolved phylogeny. Analyses confirm the monophyly of the tribe and show that the American genus Brongniartia is more closely related to Australian genera than to Harpalyce, the other American genus in the tribe. There is evidence that the Australian genus Plagiocarpus is related to Brongniartia. Templetonia is polyphyletic. Templetonia biloba, T. incana, and Lamprolobium form a monophyletic group. Analyses also support the recognition of three groups within the Australian endemic genus Hovea.

Communicating Editor: John V. Freudenstein