J Syst Evol ›› 2022, Vol. 60 ›› Issue (3): 630-639.DOI: 10.1111/jse.12803

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Phylogeny, classification, and biogeography of Afrotrichloris, Apochiton, Coelachyrum, Dinebra, Eleusine, Leptochloa, Schoenefeldia, and a new genus, Schoenefeldiella (Poaceae: Chloridoideae: Cynodonteae: Eleusininae)

Paul M. Peterson1*, Konstantin Romaschenko1,2, Yolanda Herrera Arrieta3, and Maria S. Vorontsova4   

  1. 1 Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013‐7012, USA
    2 M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany, National Academy of Sciences, Kiev 01601, Ukraine
    3 Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CIIDIR Unidad‐Durango‐COFAA, C.P, Durango 34220, Mexico
    4 Comparative Plant and Fungal Biology, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond Surrey TW9 3AE, UK

    * Author for correspondence. E‐mail: peterson@si.edu
  • Received:2021-04-30 Accepted:2021-07-01 Online:2021-07-06 Published:2022-05-01

Abstract: To investigate the evolutionary relationships among species of Afrotrichloris, Apochiton, Coelachyrum, Dinebra, Eleusine, Leptochloa, and Schoenefeldia of subtribe Eleusininae, a phylogeny based on DNA sequences from nine gene regions (ITS, rps16-trnK, rps3, rps16, rpoC2, rpl32-trnL, ndhF, ndhA, ccsA) is presented. Previous molecular phylogenies indicated that Coelachyrum was polyphyletic and Schoenefeldia was paraphyletic, with Afrotrichloris embedded within it. Apochiton burttii was embedded in the Coelachyrum clade paired with C. longiglume, Coelachyrum poiflorum was placed outside of Coelachyrum and sister to Eleusine, and Schoenefeldia is paraphyletic, with its two species forming a grade sister to Afrotrichoris. Our molecular phylogeny supports recognition of a new genus, Schoenefeldiella, and a new combination, Schoenfeldiella transiens. In addition, we provide generic emendations for Coelachyrum, which now includes five species including a new combination proposed here, Coelachyrum burttii, and Eleusine, which now includes 11 species.

Key words: Biogeography, Coelachyrum, grasses, ITS, molecular systematics, plastid DNA sequences, Poaceae, Schoenefeldiella, taxonomy