A review of the phylogenetic relationships of the subfamilies of Simaroubaceae is presented and the distribution patterns of the American genera are discussed. Engler's six subfamilies are evaluated and the three subfamilies represented in the Americas and their included genera are discussed in detail. The eight American genera fall into three broad distributional categories: widely distributed throughout the neotropics, limited to northern South America, and disjunct between the West Indies, Central America and Mexico and southern South America. These distributions are discussed and interpreted.
Simaroubaceae; distribution patterns; neotropical flora