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The family Cleomaceae is represented in the Neotropics by nine native lineages, with some of them currently recognized as distinct genera and others in need of clear delimitation. We present here a new phylogenetic hypothesis for the New World Cleomaceae with a more comprehensive sampling, including samples of 62 species with emphasis on Tarenaya and based on nrDNA ITS and cpDNA matK and ndhF. Six clades are supported: (1) a new clade comprising Cleome tenuis and Physostemon humilis; and five other previously identified clades: (2) the Dactylaena clade, including the monophyletic Dactylaena and the paraphyletic Physostemon and Mitostylis; (3) the Andean clade, comprising Andinocleome and Podandrogyne; (4) the Melidiscus clade; (5) the Cleoserrata clade, and (6) the Tarenaya clade; the last three corresponding to genera with the same name. The lineage comprising C. tenuis and P. humilis is strongly supported by morphological and molecular datasets, and a new genus, named Iltisiella, comprising these species is proposed here. Tarenaya is clearly demonstrated to be a monophyletic genus, corroborating previous analyses. We identify four subclades in its topology, and the relationships among the species in each subclade revealed to be moderately to strongly resolved. Furthermore, we conducted a historical biogeographical analysis of the New World Cleomaceae on time‐calibrated trees, and our results suggest an Oligocene origin at least 35.02 Mya with a MRCA distributed in Mesoamerica and the Northern Andes. For Tarenaya, our results suggest a Miocene origin at least 17 Mya, with the most recent common ancestor in the Chacoan and Atlantic Forest geographic areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cleomaceae is a small pantropical family that is emerging as a promising system to investigate C4 photosynthesis, floral evolution, and comparative genomics. However, our understanding of these phenomena is hindered by a lack of a strong phylogenetic hypothesis, despite a number of previous studies. We reconstructed the phylogeny of the family using data from all three genomes, including three cpDNA (ndhF, matK, ycfl), one mtDNA (rps3), and one nrDNA (ITS) regions. Analyses strongly supported 15 clades: (1) Clade 1, which includes two Old World species, Cleome khorassanica and C. turkmena; (2) Cleome s.str., which includes the type C. ornithopodioides and Old World species; (3) Droserifolia, corresponding to three Old World species, C. droserifolia, C.fimbriata, C. quinquenervia; (4) Polanisia, equivalent to this New World genus; (5) Angustifolia, which includes four Old World species; (6) North American cleomoids, which includes four genera, Cleomella, Peritoma, Oxystylis, and Wislizenia; (7) Australian, which includes Old world species and worldwide weed Arivela viscosa; (8) Gynandropsis, equivalent to this monotypic genus; (9) Clade 6, which includes Old World species of Cleome and Dipterygium; (10) Dactylaena, corresponding to this genus and Physostemon; (1l) African, which includes species distributed in Old World; (12) Andean, which includes Podandrogyne and tropical New World species of Cleome; (13) Melidiscus, which includes New World tropical species; (14) Cleoserrata, which includes New World tropical species; and (15) Tarenaya, a large New World clade. Major relationships amongst the clades are strongly supported for the first time, including North American cleomoids sister to all remaining Cleomaceae. While five genera are confirmed or newly identified here to be non-monophyletic (Cleome, Cleomella, Hemiscola, Peritoma, Tarenaya), six are supported (Cleoserrata, Dactylaena, Melidiscus, Physostemon, Podandrogyne, Polanisia). Thus, there are many taxonomic and evolutionary implications to our revised phylogenetic hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]