''Sartidia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number ...

n and Madagascan plants in the

grass family Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...

. It was split from ''

Aristida ''Aristida'' is a very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family. ''Aristida'' is distinguished by having three awns (bristles) on each lemma of each floret. The genus includes about 300 species found worldwide, often in arid wa ...

'' in 1963 by South African botanist

Bernard de Winter Bernard de Winter (31 July 1924 - 8 May 2017 Pretoria) was a South African botanist who from 1973 was Director of the Botanical Research Institute, which later became the National Botanical Institute and then the South African National Biodiversi ...

and contains six known species, of which ''

Sartidia perrieri ''Sartidia perrieri'' is a grass species endemic to Madagascar, known from only one collected individual and now considered extinct. Henri Perrier de la Bâthie, in 1914, collected a plant in the central region of Madagascar, near Antsirabe, ...

'' is considered extinct. Their natural habitats are warm, semi-arid

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

and

dry forest Dry or dryness most often refers to: * Lack of rainfall, which may refer to **Arid regions **Drought * Dry or dry area, relating to legal prohibition of selling, serving, or imbibing alcoholic beverages * Dry humor, deadpan * Dryness (medical) ...

at altitudes of where rainfall ranges from 250 to 1,500 mm per year. They are

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

grasses with inflorescence in a

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is ...

. Other than most species in subfamily

Aristidoideae The Aristideae is the sole tribe of grasses in the monotypic subfamily Aristidoideae of the true grass family Poaceae. Its members are herbaceous annuals or perennials found in the tropics, subtropics and temperate zones. The tribe has over 30 ...

, ''Sartidia'' species use the ancestral C photosynthetic pathway.

Phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

analyses suggest that ''Sartidia'' is the sister genus of ''

Stipagrostis ''Stipagrostis'' is a genus of African, Asian, and Russian plants in the grass family Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal ...

'', an important C genus from Africa and Southwest Asia. ; Species * ''

Sartidia angolensis ''Sartidia'' is a genus of Southern African and Madagascan plants in the grass family. It was split from '' Aristida'' in 1963 by South African botanist Bernard de Winter and contains six known species, of which '' Sartidia perrieri'' is consi ...

'' (C.E.Hubb.) De Winter –

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and e ...

* ''

Sartidia dewinteri ''Sartidia'' is a genus of Southern African and Madagascan plants in the grass family. It was split from '' Aristida'' in 1963 by South African botanist Bernard de Winter and contains six known species, of which '' Sartidia perrieri'' is consi ...

'' Munday & Fish –

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

(South Africa),

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its ...

* ''

Sartidia isaloensis ''Sartidia'' is a genus of Southern African and Madagascan plants in the grass family. It was split from '' Aristida'' in 1963 by South African botanist Bernard de Winter and contains six known species, of which '' Sartidia perrieri'' is consi ...

'' Voronts., Razanatsoa & Besnard – Madagascar * ''

Sartidia jucunda ''Sartidia'' is a genus of Southern African and Madagascan plants in the grass family. It was split from '' Aristida'' in 1963 by South African botanist Bernard de Winter and contains six known species, of which '' Sartidia perrieri'' is consi ...

'' (Schweick.) De Winter –

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

(South Africa) * ''

'' (A.Camus) Bourreil – Madagascar (extinct) * ''

Sartidia vanderystii ''Sartidia'' is a genus of Southern African and Madagascan plants in the grass family. It was split from '' Aristida'' in 1963 by South African botanist Bernard de Winter and contains six known species, of which '' Sartidia perrieri'' is consi ...

'' (De Wild.) De Winter –

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

References

External links

Flora of Africa Poaceae genera Aristidoideae {{Poaceae-stub