In phylogenetics, a basal clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade; it appears at the base of a cladogram. A basal group form an outgroup to the rest of the clade, such as in the following example: The word "basal" is preferred to the loaded term "primitive", which has false connotations of inferiority or simplicity. The basal status of a clade is relative to what it is being compared to. In the first example below, humans are the basal group, as they are the first to diverge from the lineages of plant. In the second example, plants are basal to the animals considered.