Gomphrenoideae

{{Short description|Subfamily of flowering plants}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Gomphrena globosa1.jpg | image_caption = ''Gomphrena globosa'' | taxon = Gomphrenoideae | authority = Schinz | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = 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.<ref name="Sanchez del-Pino 2009" />

The center of diversity lies in Central America, Mexico and the dry forests and thorn bush savannas of South America.<ref name="Müller2005" />

== Systematics == 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.:<ref name="Sanchez del-Pino 2009" />

===Iresinoids=== * ''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=== * ''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''.<ref name="Sage2016">{{cite journal |last=Sage |first=R.F. |year=2016 |title=A portrait of the {{C4}} photosynthetic family on the 50th anniversary of its discovery: species number, evolutionary lineages, and Hall of Fame |journal=Journal of Experimental Botany |volume=67 |issue=14 |pages=4039–4056 |doi=10.1093/jxb/erw156 |issn=0022-0957 |pmid=27053721|doi-access=free }} {{open access}}</ref><ref name="SageSage2007">{{cite journal |last1=Sage |first1=R.F. |last2=Sage |first2=T.L. |last3=Pearcy |first3=R.W. |last4=Borsch |first4=T. |title=The taxonomic distribution of {{C4}} photosynthesis in Amaranthaceae sensu stricto|journal=American Journal of Botany |volume=94 |issue=12 |year=2007 |pages=1992–2003 |issn=0002-9122 |doi=10.3732/ajb.94.12.1992|pmid=21636394 }} {{open access}}</ref>

===Gomphrenoids=== * ''Blutaparon'' Raf. (Syn.: ''Philoxerus'' R.Br.): with about 5 species at shores of North and Middle America, West Africa, Micronesia and Japan, for example: ** ''Blutaparon rigidum'' * ''Froelichia'' Moench: with about 12 species in America. * ''Froelichiella'' R.E.Fr., with only one species: ** ''Froelichiella grisea'' R.E.Fr. in Brasília. * ''Gomphrena'' L. (Syn.: ''Bragantia'' Vand.): with about 90 species in America and about 30 species in Australia. This genus is polyphyletic, so taxonomical changes have to be expected.<ref name="Sanchez del-Pino 2009" /> ** ''Gomphrena pulchella'' ** ''Gomphrena decumbens'' ** ''Gomphrena globosa'' * ''Gossypianthus'' Hook.: with 2 species in southern North America. * ''Guilleminea'' Kunth (Syn.: ''Brayulinea'' Small) * ''Hebanthe'' Mart.: with about 7 species in tropical America. * ''Hebanthodes'' Pedersen, with only one species: ** ''Hebanthodes peruviana'' Pedersen in Peru. * ''Lithophila'' Sw., with 2 species on Galapagos and the Caribic * ''Pfaffia'' Mart.: with about 35 species in tropical America. * ''Pseudogomphrena'' R.E.Fr., with only one species: ** ''Pseudogomphrena scandens'' R.E.Fr. in Brasília. * ''Pseudoplantago'' Suess.: with one species in Venezuela and one in Argentina. * ''Quaternella'' Pedersen: with 3 species in Brasília. * ''Xerosiphon'' Turcz.: with about 2 species in Brasília. 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.<ref name="Sage2016"/><ref name="SageSage2007"/> Some of these {{C4}} species occur at unusually high altitudes in the Andes, in cooler conditions than their {{C3}} relatives.<ref name="BenaAcosta2017">{{cite journal |last1=Bena |first1=M.J. |last2=Acosta |first2=J.M. |last3=Aagesen |first3=Lone |title=Macroclimatic niche limits and the evolution of {{C4}} photosynthesis in Gomphrenoideae (Amaranthaceae) |journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=184 |issue=3 |year=2017 |pages=283–297 |issn=0024-4074 |doi=10.1093/botlinnean/box031|hdl=11336/182484 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

== Photographs == <gallery> File:Iresinelindenii.jpg|Iresinoids: ''Iresine lindenii'' File:Khaki weed (Alternanthera pungens) in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 8030.jpg|Alternantheroids: ''Alternanthera caracasana'' File:Tidestromia lanuginosa.jpg|Alternantheroids: ''Tidestromia lanuginosa'' File:Gomphrena serrata in Hyderabad W IMG 8870.jpg|Gomphrenoids: ''Gomphrena serrata'' File:Pfaffia glomerata-costapppr.jpg|Gomphrenoids: ''Pfaffia glomerata'' </gallery>

== References == {{Commons category}} {{Wikispecies}} <references> <ref name="Müller2005">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.</ref> <ref name="Sanchez del-Pino 2009">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}}</ref> </references>

Category:Amaranthaceae Category:Caryophyllales subfamilies