Final answer:
A clade is synonymous with a monophyletic group, both referring to a group that consists of an ancestor and all of its descendants, stemming from a single point on a phylogenetic tree.
Step-by-step explanation:
The concept of a clade is integral to understanding evolutionary relationships within phylogenetic trees. A clade refers to a group of organisms that includes an ancestor and all of its descendants. This is identical to the definition of a monophyletic group, which consists of an ancestral species and all of its descendants, and arises from a single branch point on a phylogenetic tree. Hence, a clade is synonymous with a monophyletic group. The other terms, paraphyletic and polyphyletic groups, represent different concepts; paraphyletic groups consist of an ancestral species and some, but not all, of its descendants, whereas polyphyletic groups consist of unrelated organisms that do not share a recent common ancestor.