Alloteropsis semialata

black seed grass
cockatoo grass
Alloteropsis semialata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Alloteropsis
Species: A. semialata
Binomial name
Alloteropsis semialata
(R.Br.) Hitchc.
Synonyms[1]

Alloteropsis semialata, known commonly as black seed grass, cockatoo grass, donkersaad gras, swartsaadgras, tweevingergras, and isi quinti, is a perennial grass distributed across much of tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Australia, as well as Papuasia and Madagascar.[1][2][3]

The species has two subspecies including A. semialata subsp. semialata, which uses the C4 photosynthetic pathway, and A. semialata subsp. eckloniana, which uses the C3 photosynthetic pathway.[4] As the only plant species known to use both pathways, it is an important model for the study of the evolution of photosynthesis.

The species has been found in a polyploid series with diploid, tetraploid, hexaploid, octoploid and dodecaploid individuals.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ↑ Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 519 毛颖草 mao ying cao Alloteropsis semialata (R. Brown) Hitchcock, Contr. U. S. Natl. Herb. 12: 210. 1909.
  3. ↑ Hitchcock, A. S. 1909. Catalogue of the Grasses of Cuba. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 12(6): 183–258, vii–xi
  4. ↑ Gibbs Russell, G. E. (1983). "The taxonomic position of C3 and C4 Alloteropsis semialata (Poaceae) in southern Africa". Bothalia 14 (2): 205–213.
  5. ↑ Liebenberg, E. J. L.; A. Fossey. (November 2001). "Comparative cytogenetic investigation of the two subspecies of the grass Alloteropsis semialata (Poaceae)". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 137 (3): 243–248. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2001.tb01120.x.
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