Open AccessKengyilia : synopsis and key to species
Author(s) -
YANG JUNLIANG,
YEN CHI,
BAUM BERNARD R.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
hereditas
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1601-5223
pISSN - 0018-0661
DOI - 10.1111/j.1601-5223.1992.tb00795.x
Subject(s) - biology , agropyron , triticeae , elymus , genome , genus , botany , inflorescence , key (lock) , tribe , leymus , nomenclature , evolutionary biology , genetics , gene , taxonomy (biology) , poaceae , ecology , sociology , anthropology , grassland
Kengyilia Yen and Yang is a new genus in the Triticeae from west China. It is similar to Roegneria C. Koch, from which it differs by the erect spikes with dense arrangement of spikelets and the densely pilose or hirsute lemmas. A cytological characteristic is the set of long chromosomes of the P genome, which can clearly be distinguished from the S and Y genomes of Roegneria and the S and H genomes of Elymus L. Morphologically Kengyilia is similar to Agropyron Gaertn from which it differs in having flat glumes, lemmas with rounded (rarely keeled) back and often by the presence of a terminal spikelet in the spikes. Sometimes its inflorescence is rather lax. Cytologically it differs from Agropyron in having the small chromosomes of the S and Y genomes in addition to the P genome set common to both. Thus, Kengyilia is a genus intermediate between Agropyron and Roegneria. To date 16 species are known to belong to Kengyilia. A key to species is presented.