Paspaleae is a

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

of the

Panicoideae Panicoideae is the second-largest subfamily of the grasses with over 3,500 species, mainly distributed in warm temperate and tropical regions. It comprises some important agricultural crops, including sugarcane, maize (or corn), sorghum, and s ...

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

in the grasses (

Poaceae Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivate ...

), native mainly to the

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

and

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

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 genera of Paspaleae used to be included in the

Paniceae Paniceae is a large tribe (biology), tribe of the subfamily Panicoideae in the grasses (Poaceae), the only in the monotypic taxon, monotypic supertribe Panicodae. It includes roughly 1,500 species in 84 genera, primarily found in tropical and sub ...

but were assigned to a new tribe following

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

analyses in 2012. The Paspaleae have an ancestral number of

chromosomes A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most importa ...

( monoploid number) of ''x'' = 10, unlike the Paniceae ''

sensu stricto ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...

'' with ''x'' = 9, and are more closely related to the tribes

Andropogoneae The Andropogoneae, sometimes called the sorghum tribe, are a large tribe of grasses (family Poaceae) with roughly 1,200 species in 90 genera, mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical areas. They include such important crops as maize (corn), ...

and Arundinelleae. The tribe is subdivided into three subtribes, with one genus, '' Reynaudia'', unplaced (''

incertae sedis or is a term used for a taxonomy (biology), taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty ...

'') 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.

Subtribes and genera

References

External links