Paspaleae | |
---|---|
Knotgrass (Paspalum distichum) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
(unranked): | Angiosperms |
(unranked): | Monocots |
(unranked): | Commelinids |
Order: | Poales |
Family: | Poaceae |
Subfamily: | Panicoideae |
Tribe: |
Paspaleae J. Presl (1830) |
Genera | |
39, see text |
|
Synonyms | |
|
39, see text
Paspaleae is a tribe of the Panicoideae subfamily in the grasses (Poaceae), native to the tropical and subtropical Americas but with a number of species introduced to other regions. It includes roughly 680 species in 39 genera. Species in this tribe use either of the C3 or C4 photosynthetic pathways.
The tribe used to be included in the Paniceae but was recognised as distinct following molecular phylogenetic analyses in 2012. The Paspaleae have an ancestral number of chromosomes (monoploid number) of x = 10, unlike the Paniceae sensu stricto with x = 9, and are more closely related to the tribes Andropogoneae and Arundinelleae. The tribe is subdivided into three subtribes, with one genus, Reynaudia, unplaced (incertae sedis) and probably basal to the other genera. The genus Lecomtella is sometimes included but a study suggested this genus was a distinct clade and best treated as separate tribe, Lecomtelleae.