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Gomphrenoideae

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Gomphrenoideae
Gomphrena globosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Subfamily: Gomphrenoideae
Schinz
Genera

about 13 genera, see text

The Gomphrenoideae are a subfamily of the Amaranthaceae.

The stamens have anthers with only one lobe (locule) and two pollen sacs. Many species show C4-photosynthesis pathway.[1]

The center of diversity lies in Central America, Mexico and the dry forests and thorn bush savannas of South America.[2]

Systematics

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The subfamily Gomphrenoideae was first published in 1893 by Hans Schinz (in: Engler und Prantl (Eds.): Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien vol. 3, 1a, p. 97).

According to phylogenetic research by Sanchez Del-Pino (2009), the subfamily Gomphrenoideae Schinz is regarded as a monophyletic taxon with 19 genera and about 300-400 species. The traditional classification with two tribes (Gomphreneae and Pseudoplantageae) does not reflect the phylogenetic relationship in this group. Three clades can be recognized.:[1]

Iresinoids

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  • Irenella Suess., with only one species:
    • Irenella chrysotricha Suess., in rain forests of Ecuador. Phylogenetically, it falls within Iresine.
  • Iresine P.Browne (Syn.: Dicraurus Hook. f.): with about 45 species in North and South America.
  • Woehleria Griseb.: with only one species
    • Woehleria serpyllifolia Griseb., on mountain coasts of Cuba. Phylogenetically, it falls within Iresine.

This is the sister clade of the two other clades.

Alternantheroids

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  • Alternanthera Forssk. (Syn.: Brandesia Mart.): with about 100-200 species, mainly in America, also in Africa and Australia.
  • Pedersenia Holub: with about 10 species in tropical America.
  • Tidestromia Standl.: with about 6 species in deserts of southern North America.

C4 carbon fixation evolved independently in the genera Alternathera, which also contains C3 and C3–C4 intermediate species, and Tidestromia.[3][4]

Gomphrenoids

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One large clade within this group, containing the genera Froelichia, Guilleminea, Blutaparon, some Gomphrena species, and probably Gossypianthus and Lithophila, has acquired the C4 carbon fixation pathway.[3][4] Some of these C4 species occur at unusually high altitudes in the Andes, in cooler conditions than their C3 relatives.[5]

Photographs

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Ivonne Sánchez del-Pino, Thomas Borsch & Timothy J. Motley (2009): trnL-F and rpl16 Sequence Data and Dense Taxon Sampling Reveal Monophyly of Unilocular Anthered Gomphrenoideae (Amaranthaceae) and an Improved Picture of Their Internal Relationships, In: Systematic Botany, Volume 34 (1), p. 57-67. doi:10.1600/036364409787602401
  2. ^ Kai Müller & Thomas Borsch (2005): Phylogenetics of Amaranthaceae using matK/trnK sequence data – evidence from parsimony, likelihood and Bayesian approaches, In: Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 92, p. 66-102.
  3. ^ a b Sage, R.F. (2016). "A portrait of the C4 photosynthetic family on the 50th anniversary of its discovery: species number, evolutionary lineages, and Hall of Fame". Journal of Experimental Botany. 67 (14): 4039–4056. doi:10.1093/jxb/erw156. ISSN 0022-0957. PMID 27053721. Open access icon
  4. ^ a b Sage, R.F.; Sage, T.L.; Pearcy, R.W.; Borsch, T. (2007). "The taxonomic distribution of C4 photosynthesis in Amaranthaceae sensu stricto". American Journal of Botany. 94 (12): 1992–2003. doi:10.3732/ajb.94.12.1992. ISSN 0002-9122. PMID 21636394. Open access icon
  5. ^ Bena, M.J.; Acosta, J.M.; Aagesen, Lone (2017). "Macroclimatic niche limits and the evolution of C4 photosynthesis in Gomphrenoideae (Amaranthaceae)". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 184 (3): 283–297. doi:10.1093/botlinnean/box031. hdl:11336/182484. ISSN 0024-4074.