View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Scholarship@Claremont Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany Volume 23 | Issue 1 Article 43 2007 Classification and Biogeography of New World Grasses: Chloridoideae Paul M. Peterson National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. J. Travis Columbus Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Claremont, California Susan J. Pennington National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/aliso Part of the Botany Commons, and the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons Recommended Citation Peterson, Paul M.; Columbus, J. Travis; and Pennington, Susan J. (2007) "Classification and Biogeography of New World Grasses: Chloridoideae," Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany: Vol. 23: Iss. 1, Article 43. Available at: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/aliso/vol23/iss1/43 Aliso 23, pp. 580–594 ᭧ 2007, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden CLASSIFICATION AND BIOGEOGRAPHY OF NEW WORLD GRASSES: CHLORIDOIDEAE PAUL M. PETERSON,1,3 J. TRAVIS COLUMBUS,2 AND SUSAN J. PENNINGTON1 1Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012, USA; 2Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, 1500 North College Avenue, Claremont, California 91711-3157, USA 3Corresponding author ([email protected]) ABSTRACT Subfamily Chloridoideae (Poaceae) in the New World includes 72 genera (61 native, 11 introduced), 678 species (607 native), and, including intraspecific taxa, 817 total taxa. The five largest genera are Muhlenbergia (147 species), Eragrostis (111), Sporobolus (76), Bouteloua (57), and Chloris (35). Three tribes are recognized in this study: Cynodonteae, Eragrostideae, and Zoysieae, with ten, three, and two subtribes, respectively. Cynodonteae, the largest tribe, comprise 58 genera and 451 species (67% of all New World chloridoids), including 25 genera (98 species, 22% of all New World Cyno- donteae) with unknown affinities (incertae sedis). In Mexico, the USA, and Canada there are 477 native and introduced chloridoid species (70% of all New World species), whereas in Central America (including the Caribbean) and South America there are 196 and 304 species, respectively. Mexico is the center of diversity with 343 species (51%). There appear to be five biogeographical patterns exhibited by New World chloridoid species: (1) North America, centered in northern Mexico and the southwestern USA, (2) southern South America, centered in northern Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and southern Brazil, (3) northwestern South America, centered in Ecuador and Peru, (4) amphitropical disjuncts, occurring in North America and southern South America, and (5) widespread species, oc- curring in North America, Central America, and South America. Subtribes Boutelouinae (Bouteloua) and Muhlenbergiinae are predominantly North American, whereas Eragrostidinae (Eragrostis) and Chloridinae are better represented in the southern South American center. Two subtribes of Cynodon- teae, Gouiniinae and Hilariinae, are described as new, and two others, Orcuttiinae and Traginae, are newly treated at that rank. Key words: biogeography, Chloridoideae, classification, Poaceae, taxonomy. INTRODUCTION in Chloridoideae (Gutierrez et al. 1974; Brown 1977; Hat- tersley and Watson 1992). Ecologically, there appears to be The grass (Poaceae) subfamily Chloridoideae was first some separation in habitat preference according to C sub- validly published in 1833 by Carl Traugott Beilschmied, a 4 type (Ellis et al. 1980; Hattersley 1992). Taxa possessing the German botanist and pharmacist, who used an earlier de- NAD-ME subtype seem to prefer habitats that are relatively scription of sect. Chlorideae by Kunth (1815). That same year, Kunth (1833) published his Agrostographia Synoptica hot and dry. In cross section, their leaf blades exhibit col- in which he recognized the following genera in the group umns of colorless cells between the vascular bundles, which (Chlorideae): Chloris, Ctenium, Cynodon, Dactyloctenium, promote involution of the blade during drought stress, re- Eleusine, Eustachys, Gymnopogon, Harpochloa Kunth, Lep- ducing transpirational water loss (P. M. Peterson pers. obs.). tochloa, Microchloa, Pleuraphis, Schoenefeldia Kunth, In comparison, PCK taxa seem to prefer more mesic habitats Spartina, Triplasis, and eight genera now treated as syno- (e.g., in canyons, under canopy of forest margins, and along nyms of Bouteloua. Clearly our modern understanding of creeks), and their blades are usually flat and soft, with the Chloridoideae is much greater, and there now appear to be chlorenchyma continuous between vascular bundles (Peter- more than 1420 species in the subfamily worldwide. Later son 2000). The PCK subtype is thought to represent an apo- isonyms of the subfamily were published by Burmeister morphy in grasses because this C4 cycle appears to be a (1837) and Rouy (1913), and, as currently circumscribed, modification of the NAD-ME subtype (Hattersley and Wat- Chloridoideae include genera that were placed in Eragros- son 1992). In addition, the PCK subtype is known only to toideae (Pilger 1956) and Pappophoroideae (Burmeister occur in grasses, whereas the NAD-ME subtype is also 1837). found in other monocot and dicot families (Hattersley and The core species in the subfamily share two structural Watson 1992; Peterson and Herrera-Arrieta 2001). synapomorphies: all exhibit Kranz or C4 leaf anatomy(except Other character trends in chloridoids include a base chro- Eragrostis walteri Pilg. from South Africa; Ellis 1984) and mosome number of x ϭ 10 (a plesiomorphy), fruits (cary- most have chloridoid bicellular microhairs (broad, short ter- opses) with nonlinear hilums that are usually punctiform or minal cell the same thickness as the basal cell) present on small, embryos with elongated mesocotyl internodes, and leaf surfaces. Two main subtypes of C4 photosynthesis, two non-membranous (fleshy) lodicules (Soreng and Davis NAD-ME (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide co-factor ma- 1998; Grass Phylogeny Working Group [GPWG] 2001). lic enzyme) and PCK (phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase), However, most of these character trends are seen in the have been found and verified by biochemical assay to occur closely related subfamilies Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, VOLUME 23 New World Chloridoideae 581 Table 1. Classification of New World Chloridoideae and number Table 1. Continued. of species per genus. * ϭ endemic genus. i ϭ all species in genus introduced. Taxon No. species Taxon No. species Leptothrium Kunth 1 Lepturidium Hitchc. & Eckman* 1 Tribe CYNODONTEAE (syn. Chlorideae) Neesiochloa Pilg.* 1 Subtribe BOUTELOUINAE Neobouteloua Gould* 2 Neyraudia Bouteloua Lag.* 57 Hook. f. i 1 Pappophorum Schreb.* 8 Subtribe CHLORIDINAE Rheochloa Filg., P. M. Peterson, & Y. Herrera* 1 Chloris Sw. 35 Saugetia Hitchc. & Chase* 2 Cynodon Rich. 16 Scleropogon Phil.* 1 Enteropogon Nees 4 Sohnsia Airy Shaw* 1 Eustachys Desv. 12 Swallenia Soderstr. & H. F. Decker* 1 Microchloa R. Br. 2 Trichoneura Andersson 3 Trichloris E. Fourn. ex Benth.* 2 Tridens Roem. & Schult.* 16 Triplasis P. Beauv.* 2 Subtribe ELEUSININAE Tripogon Roem. & Schult. 2 Eleusine Gaertn. 4 Triraphis R. Br. 2 Subtribe Gouiniinae Tribe ERAGROSTIDEAE Gouinia E. Fourn. ex Benth. & Hook. f.* 10 Subtribe COTTEINAE Vaseyochloa Hitchc.* 1 Cottea Kunth* 1 Subtribe Hilariinae Enneapogon Desv. ex P. Beauv. 2 Hilaria Kunth* 7 Subtribe ERAGROSTIDINAE Pleuraphis Torr.* 3 Cladoraphis Franch. i 1 Subtribe MONANTHOCHLOINAE Eragrostis Wolf 111 Distichlis Raf. 6 Pogonarthria Stapf i 1 Monanthochloe Engelm.* 2 Steirachne Ekman* 2 Reederochloa Soderstr. & H. F. Decker* 1 Subtribe UNIOLINAE Subtribe MUHLENBERGIINAE Fingerhuthia Nees ex Lehm. i 1 Aegopogon Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd. 4 Tetrachne Nees i 1 Bealia Scribn.* 1 Uniola L.* 5 Blepharoneuron Nash* 2 Tribe ZOYSIEAE Chaboissaea E. Fourn.* 4 Lycurus Kunth* 3 Subtribe SPOROBOLINAE Muhlenbergia Schreb. 147 Calamovilfa (A. Gray) Hack. ex Scribn. & Pereilema J. Presl* 4 Southw.* 5 Redfieldia Vasey* 1 Crypsis Aiton i 3 Schaffnerella Nash* 1 Spartina Schreb. 15 Schedonnardus Steud.* 1 Sporobolus R. Br. 76 Subtribe MUNROINAE Subtribe ZOYSIINAE Dasyochloa Willd. ex Rydb.* 1 Zoysia Willd. i 3 Erioneuron Nash* 3 Munroa Torr.* 5 Subtribe Orcuttiinae Danthonioideae, and Panicoideae. A recent morphological Neostapfia Burtt Davy* 1 and ecological description of the subfamily is given in Orcuttia Vasey* 5 GPWG (2001). Some salient features include: plants herba- Tuctoria Reeder* 3 ceous, rarely woody, occurring in dry climates, sheaths usu- ally nonauriculate, inflorescence paniculate, racemose, or Subtribe Traginae spicate, spikelets bisexual or unisexual (plants monoecious Tragus Haller i 4 or dioecious) with one to many fertile florets, usually later- Willkommia Hack. 1 ally compressed, usually disarticulating above the glumes, Incertae sedis palea well developed, lodicules usually two, fleshy, ovary Acrachne Wight & Arn. ex Chiov. i 1 glabrous, styles and stigmas two, caryopsis with pericarp Allolepis Soderstr. & H. F. Decker* 1 often free or loose, hilum short, endosperm hard, without Blepharidachne Hack.* 4 lipid, embryo with an epiblast (usually), scutellar cleft, and Ctenium Panz. 10 elongated mesocotyl internode. Dactyloctenium Willd. i 5 Dinebra Jacq. i 1 In this paper, based on the latest phylogenetic evidence, Gymnopogon P. Beauv. 12 we introduce a new tribal and subtribal