Erophaca Explained

Erophaca is a monotypic genus of the tribe Galegeae. Its only species, Erophaca baetica, is a perennial plant distributed in disjunct populations in the Mediterranean Region.^[1]

According to nrDNA ITS analysis, Erophaca is monophyletic and related to the Astragalean clade. It is also andromonoecious (a rare sexual system among the angiosperms and a novelty for Old World papilionoid legumes).^{[2] [3]}

Erophaca baetica has two subspecies distributed at opposite ends of the Mediterranean region:

• E. baetica subsp. baetica: Native to the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain) and Northwest Africa (Morocco and Algeria).
• E. baetica subsp. orientalis: Native to the Eastern Mediterranean (Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and Lebanon).

Some populations in Algeria were found to be hybrids of the two subspecies.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Erophaca Boiss . floraiberica.es . September 13, 2020.
2. Andromonoecy in an Old World Papilionoid legume, Erophaca baetica . R. Casimiro-Soriguer . J. Herrera . S. Talavera . Plant Biology . 2013 . 15 . 2 . 353–359 . 10.1111/j.1438-8677.2012.00648.x . 22823201 . 2013PlBio..15..353C . September 13, 2020.
3. Phylogeny and genetic structure of Erophaca (Leguminosae), a East–West Mediterranean disjunct genus from the Tertiary . 2010 . RamónCasimiro-Soriguer et al. . 10.1016/j.ympev.2010.02.025 . September 13, 2020. Casimiro-Soriguer . Ramón . Talavera . María . Balao . Francisco . Terrab . Anass . Herrera . Javier . Talavera . Salvador . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 56 . 1 . 441–450 . 20219686 . 2010MolPE..56..441C .