A molecular phylogeny and classification of the Cynodonteae (Poaceae: Chloridoideae) with four new genera: Orthacanthus , Triplasiella , Tripogonella , and Zaqiqah ; three new subtribes: Dactylocteniinae, Orininae, and Zaqiqahinae; and a subgeneric classification of Distichlis

Abstract Morphologically, the tribe Cynodonteae is a diverse group of grasses containing about 839 species in 96 genera and 18 subtribes, found primarily in Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. Because the classification of these genera and species has been poorly understood, we conducted a phylogenetic analysis on 213 species (389 samples) in the Cynodonteae using sequence data from seven plastid regions (rps16‐trnK spacer, rps16 intron, rpoC2, rpl32‐trnL spacer, ndhF, ndhA intron, ccsA) and the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS 1 Orininae with Cleistogenes and Orinus; and Zaqiqahinae with a single genus, Zaqiqah gen. nov.; Hubbardochloinae (resurrected here) with seven genera; and describes four new genera: Orthacanthus (Traginae) with a single species, Triplasiella (Gouiniinae) with a single species, Tripogonella (Tripogoninae) with three species, and Zaqiqah with a single species. We additionally provide a subgeneric classification of Distichlis recognizing three sections: D. sect. Monanthochloe, D. sect. Bajaenses, and D. sect. Spicatae, the latter two representing new sections. The following nine new combinations are made: Distichlis sect. Monanthochloe, Orthacanthus pedunculatus, Tridentopsis buckleyana, Tridentopsis mutica var. elongata, Triplasiella eragrotoides, Tripogonella loliiformis, Tripogonella minima, Tripogonella spicata, and Zaqiqah mucronata. We lectotypify the following five names: Festuca loliiformis, F. minima, F. mucronata, Triodia eragrostoides, and Uralepis elongata.