Danthonioideae is a mainly southern hemispheresubfamily of grasses, containing the single tribe Danthonieae and one unplaced genus,[1] with altogether roughly 300 species.[2] It includes herbaceous to partially woody perennial or annual (less common) grasses that grow in open grasslands, shrublands, and woodlands.[3] It belongs to the PACMAD clade of grasses, but unlike some other lineages in that clade, grasses in the Danthonioideae exclusively use the C3 photosynthetic pathway.[4] Its sister group is the subfamily Chloridoideae.[4]
There are 19 genera, 18 of which are placed in tribe Danthonieae, while one is as yet unplaced (incertae sedis).[1] The relationships within the group are complicated; conflicting phylogenetic evidence from nuclear and chloroplast DNA suggests that hybridisation events played an important role in the Danthonioideae.[5]
^Soreng, Robert J.; Peterson, Paul M.; Romaschenko, Konstantin; Davidse, Gerrit; Zuloaga, Fernando O.; Judziewicz, Emmet J.; Filgueiras, Tarciso S.; Davis, Jerrold I.; Morrone, Osvaldo (2015). "A worldwide phylogenetic classification of the Poaceae (Gramineae)". Journal of Systematics and Evolution. 53 (2): 117–137. doi:10.1111/jse.12150. hdl:11336/25248. ISSN1674-4918. S2CID84052108.
