Subdivision of the Family

Abstract

The Poaceae are one of the few large plant families that currently enjoys a fully phylogenetic classification. It is based on a phylogeny generated largely from DNA sequence data, but supported by extensive morphological data (Fig. 9). All named subfamilies, tribes, and subtribes are strictly monophyletic (i.e., including all the descendants of a given ancestor). Of the ca. 11,000 species in the family, all can be placed in one of the early-diverging subfamilies, or in the BEP or PACMAD clades, using either molecular or morphological data or both. Subfamily assignment is uncertain for fewer than ten species, and a large majority of species can be placed into tribes and subtribes. Over 1/3 of the species in the family now have some sort of molecular data available, and the remainder exhibit enough morphological synapomorphies to place them confidently in clades identified by combined molecules and morphology.