Family Leguminosae (Fabaceae) is one of the largest and most economically important flowering plant families in the world, with a global distribution, and found in almost every ecosystem on earth. Recent advances in systematic studies of the family have led to many changes at the generic level, as part of an international effort to fully understand the relationships within the family.

Caesalpinia and Bauhinia, in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae, have both been known historically as large genera with a pantropical distribution. However, in recent years both of these large genera have been broken down into a number of smaller genera, which better reflect the evolutionary relationships and biogeography of the groups. My research investigates whether 3 further segregate genera can be recognised within these groups, based on morphological and molecular data.