Dendrogram

{{Distinguish|Dendrogramma}}

{{short description|Diagram with a treelike structure}}

{{More citations needed|date=January 2017}}

{{merge to|Tree structure|date=May 2025}}

File:UPGMA Dendrogram Hierarchical.svg

[[File:Global-Diversity-of-Sponges-(Porifera)-pone.0035105.s008.tif|thumb|Dendrogram output for hierarchical clustering of marine provinces using presence / absence of sponge species.{{Cite journal |vauthors=Van Soest R, Boury-Esnault N, Vacelet J, Dohrmann M, Erpenbeck D, De Voogd N, Santodomingo N, Vanhoorne B, Kelly M, Hooper J| title = Global Diversity of Sponges (Porifera) | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0035105 | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 7 | issue = 4 | pages = e35105 | year = 2012 | pmid = 22558119 | pmc = 3338747 | bibcode = 2012PLoSO...735105V| doi-access = free }}

]]

File:Phylogenetic tree.svg. This phylogenetic tree is adapted from Woese et al. rRNA analysis.{{cite journal | last1 = Woese | first1 = Carl R.| author-link1 = Carl Woese | last2 = Kandler | first2 = O | last3 = Wheelis | first3= M | title = Towards a natural system of organisms: proposal for the domains Archaea, Bacteria, and Eucarya | url=http://www.pnas.org/content/87/12/4576.full.pdf | journal = Proc Natl Acad Sci USA | volume = 87 | issue = 12 | pages = 4576–4579 | year = 1990 | pmid = 2112744 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.87.12.4576 | pmc = 54159 | bibcode=1990PNAS...87.4576W| author2-link = Otto Kandler| doi-access = free}} The vertical line at bottom represents the last universal common ancestor (LUCA).]]

File:Heatmap RNAseqV2 1.png data showing two dendrograms in the left and top margins.]]

A dendrogram is a diagram representing a tree graph. This diagrammatic representation is frequently used in different contexts:

• in hierarchical clustering, it illustrates the arrangement of the clusters produced by the corresponding analyses.{{cite book |last= Everitt |first= Brian |date= 1998 |title= Dictionary of Statistics |location= Cambridge, UK |publisher= Cambridge University Press |page= [https://archive.org/details/cambridgediction00ever_0/page/96 96] |isbn= 0-521-59346-8 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/cambridgediction00ever_0/page/96 }}
• in computational biology, it shows the clustering of genes or samples, sometimes in the margins of heatmaps.{{cite journal|last1=Wilkinson|first1=Leland|last2=Friendly|first2=Michael|title=The History of the Cluster Heat Map|journal=The American Statistician|date=May 2009|volume=63|issue=2|pages=179–184|doi=10.1198/tas.2009.0033|s2cid=122792460|citeseerx=10.1.1.165.7924}}
• in phylogenetics, it displays the evolutionary relationships among various biological taxa. In this case, the dendrogram is also called a phylogenetic tree.{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/science/phylogenetic-tree|title=Phylogenetic tree (biology)|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2018-10-22|language=en}}

The name dendrogram derives from the two ancient greek words {{wikt-lang|grc|δένδρον}} ({{grc-transl|δένδρον}}), meaning "tree", and {{wikt-lang|grc|γράμμα}} ({{grc-transl|γράμμα}}), meaning "drawing, mathematical figure".{{Cite book |title=Abrégé du dictionnaire grec français |last=Bailly |first=Anatole |date=1981-01-01 |publisher=Hachette |isbn=2010035283 |location=Paris |oclc=461974285 }}{{Cite web |url=http://www.tabularium.be/bailly/ |title=Greek-french dictionary online |last=Bailly |first=Anatole |website=www.tabularium.be |access-date=October 20, 2018}}