J Syst Evol ›› 2017, Vol. 55 ›› Issue (4): 259-290.DOI: 10.1111/jse.12262

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A worldwide phylogenetic classification of the Poaceae (Gramineae) II: An update and a comparison of two 2015 classifications

Robert J. Soreng1, Paul M. Peterson1*, Konstantin Romaschenko1, Gerrit Davidse2, Jordan K. Teisher3, Lynn G. Clark4, Patricia Barberá5, Lynn J. Gillespie6, and Fernando O. Zuloaga7   

  1. 1Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA
    2Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299, USA
    3The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA
    4Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
    5Real Jardín Botánico, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Plaza de Murillo, 2, Madrid, 28014, Spain
    6Botany Section, Research and Collections, Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, ON K1P 6P4, Canada
    7Instituto de Botánica Darwinion, Labardén 200, San Isidro B1642HYD, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Received:2017-04-21 Published:2017-07-24

Abstract: We present a new worldwide phylogenetic classification of 11 506 grass species in 768 genera, 12 subfamilies, seven supertribes, 52 tribes, five supersubtribes, and 90 subtribes; and compare two phylogenetic classifications of the grass family published in 2015 (Soreng et al. and Kellogg). The subfamilies (in descending order based on the number of species) are Pooideae with 3968 species in 202 genera, 15 tribes, and 30 subtribes; Panicoideae with 3241 species in 247 genera, 13 tribes, and 19 subtribes; Bambusoideae with 1670 species in 125 genera, three tribes, and 15 subtribes; Chloridoideae with 1602 species in 124 genera, five tribes, and 26 subtribes; Aristidoideae with 367 species in three genera, and one tribe; Danthonioideae with 292 species in 19 genera, and one tribe; Micrairoideae with 184 species in eight genera, and three tribes; Oryzoideae with 115 species in 19 genera, four tribes, and two subtribes; Arundinoideae with 40 species in 14 genera, two tribes, and two subtribes; Pharoideae with 12 species in three genera, and one tribe; Puelioideae with 11 species in two genera, and two tribes; and the Anomochlooideae with four species in two genera, and two tribes. We also include a radial tree illustrating the hierarchical relationships among the subtribes, tribes, and subfamilies. Newly described taxa include: supertribes Melicodae and Nardodae; supersubtribes Agrostidodinae, Boutelouodinae, Gouiniodinae, Loliodinae, and Poodinae; and subtribes Echinopogoninae and Ventenatinae.

Key words: classification, DNA, Gramineae, grasses, morphology, phylogeny, subfamily, subtribe, supertribe, supersubtribe, tribe