Unraveling Polyphyly in Flourensia (Asteraceae, Heliantheae, Enceliinae) and the Establishment of a New Genus Austroflourensia.

The monophyly of Flourensia was examined for the first time by sequencing the nuclear ITS and plastid psbA- trnH regions in 18 species of the genus, analyzing them along with representatives of the remaining genera of subtribe Enceliinae. Results showed strong evidence for the polyphyly of Flourensia identifying two well-supported groups: Flourensia, a clade from North America including the type F. laurifolia, and another clade, here designed as the new genus Austroflourensia, containing the South American species.

Molecular phylogeny of Panicum s. str. (Poaceae, Panicoideae, Paniceae) and insights into its biogeography and evolution.

Panicum sensu stricto is a genus of grasses (Poaceae) with nearly, according to this study, 163 species distributed worldwide. This genus is included in the subtribe Panicinae together with Louisiella, the latter with 2 species. Panicum and subtribe Panicinae are characterized by including annual or perennial taxa with open and lax panicles, and spikelets with the lower glume reduced; all taxa also share a basic chromosome number of x = 9 and a Kranz leaf blade anatomy typical of the NAD-me subtype photosynthetic pathway.

Breeding system diversification and evolution in American Poa supersect. Homalopoa (Poaceae: Poeae: Poinae).

Background And Aims: Poa subgenus Poa supersect. Homalopoa has diversified extensively in the Americas. Over half of the species in the supersection are diclinous; most of these are from the New World, while a few are from South-East Asia.