Evolution of Flavonoids in Tephrosieae

Abstract

Taxonomie opinion in recent years (Polhill 1981) has favoured a circumscription of Tephrosieae (subfamily Leguminosae-Papilionoideae) to include, among other genera, Derris, Lonchocarpus, Millettia, Mundulea, Piscidia, Pongamia, Tephrosia, and Wisteria. The generally reticulate pattern of the radiation of species in the woody part of the tribe has made generic delimitation contentious (Polhill 1971). It was hoped that a complete chemical profile, in which rotenoid data are included, might help to elucidate the pattern of divergence (Fellows et al. 1978). The distribution of flavonoids, the class of natural products to which rotenoids belong, was recorded in recent times chiefly for species of Derris and Lonchocarpus. This is fortunate because differentiation between these genera is particularly problematical.