Generic delimitations of Schizostachyum and its allies (Gramineae: Bambusoideae) inferred from GBSSI and trnL-F sequence phylogenies

The monophyly of the woody bamboos Schizostachyum s. str., Cephalostachyum, Dinochloa, Leptocanna, Melocanna, Melocalamus , and Pseudostachyum was tested based on sequence data of the nuclear GBSSI gene and plastid trnL‐F intergenic spacer, using maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference. Schizostachyum s. str., Cephalostachyum, Leptocanna, Melocanna , and Pseudostachyum were resolved as a monophyletic group while Dinochloa and Melocalamus were excluded and should be referred to another subtribe. Schizostachyum s.str. and Cephalostachyum were strongly supported as monophyletic in both the separate and combined analyses; their circumscriptions should be modified, however. Leptocanna and Schizostachyum sanguineum must be united with the Cephalostachyum subclade and Cephalostachyum virgatum and C. pergracile transferred to the Schizostachyum subclade. Melocanna and Pseudostachyum were strongly supported as good genera.