Polygonoideae is a subfamily of

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Polygonaceae The Polygonaceae are a family of flowering plants known informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The name is based on the genus '' Polygonum'', and was first used by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1 ...

. It includes a number of plants that can be highly invasive, such as Japanese knotweed, ''

Reynoutria japonica ''Reynoutria japonica'', synonyms ''Fallopia japonica'' and ''Polygonum cuspidatum'', is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the knotweed and buckwheat family Polygonaceae. Common names include Japanese knotweed and Asian knotweed. It is ...

'', and its hybrid with '' R. sachalinensis'', ''R.'' × ''bohemica''. Boundaries between the genera placed in the subfamily and their relationships have long been problematic, but a series of

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies have clarified some of them, resulting in the division of the subfamily into seven tribes.

Taxonomy

Phylogeny

A 2015 molecular phylogenetic study suggested that the genera and tribes in Polygonoideae were related as shown in the following cladogram. ''

Rumex The docks and sorrels, genus ''Rumex'', are a genus of about 200 species of annual, biennial, and perennial herbs in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae. Members of this genus are very common perennial herbs with a native almost worldwide distribu ...

'' included ''Emex'', and ''

Fallopia ''Fallopia'' is a genus of about 12 species of flowering plants in the buckwheat family, often included in a wider treatment of the related genus ''Polygonum'' in the past, and previously including ''Reynoutria''. The genus is native to temperat ...

'' was not

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

, with some species placed outside the main group in the tribe Polygoneae, and some others grouping with '' Pteroxygonum'', placed in the tribe Pteroxygoneae.

Genera

Some of the boundaries between the genera are not settled ; in particular, ''

'' is at least

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

. A 2011 classification divided the subfamily into five tribes, Calligoneae, Fagopyreae, Persicariae, Polygoneae and Rumiceae, leaving some genera unplaced. A 2015 molecular phylogenetic study added two new tribes accommodating these genera, Oxygoneae and Pteroxygoneae. Genera and their tribal placement accepted in the 2015 study are shown below. *Tribe Calligoneae C.A.Mey **''

Calligonum ''Calligonum'' is a genus of plants in the family Polygonaceae with about 80 species across the Mediterranean Sea region, Asia and North America. Description Plants of the genus ''Calligonum'' are shrubs, diffusely but irregularly branched, wi ...

'' **''

Pteropyrum ''Pteropyrum'' is a genus of plants in the family Polygonaceae. Plants of the World Online accepts two species, native to Iran, Oman and the Gulf States. Description Species of ''Pteropyrum'' are shrubs. The few leaves may be arranged alternate ...

'' *Tribe Fagopyreae Yonek. **''

Fagopyrum The genus ''Fagopyrum'' is in the flowering plant family Polygonaceae. It includes some important food plants, such as '' F. esculentum'' (buckwheat) and '' F. tataricum'' (Tartary buckwheat). The genus is native to the Indian subcontin ...

'' *Tribe Oxygoneae T.M.Schust. & Reveal **''

Oxygonum ''Oxygonum'' is a genus of plants in the family Polygonaceae with about 30 species. It is native to eastern parts of Africa and to the Arabian Peninsula. Description Species of ''Oxygonum'' are annual or perennial herbaceous plants, more rarely ...

'' *Tribe Persicariae Dumort. **''

Bistorta ''Bistorta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. about 40 species are accepted. It has been supported as a separate clade by molecular phylogenetic analysis. ''Bistorta'' species are native throughout much of the Northern ...

'' **''

Koenigia :Koenigia'' as described by Philibert Commerçon is a synonym of ''Dombeya. ''Koenigia'' is a genus of plants in the family Polygonaceae. The genus ''Aconogonon'' has been merged into ''Koenigia''. Description Species of ''Koenigia'' are annual ...

'' **''

Persicaria ''Persicaria'' is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the knotweed family, Polygonaceae. Plants of the genus are known commonly as knotweeds or smartweeds.Atraphaxis'' **''

Duma A duma (russian: дума) is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were for ...

'' **''

'' **'' Knorringia'' **''

Muehlenbeckia ''Muehlenbeckia'' or maidenhair is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. It is native to the borders of the Pacific, including South and North America, Papua New Guinea and Australasia. It has been introduced elsewhere, includin ...

'' **''

Polygonum ''Polygonum'' is a genus of about 130 species of flowering plant in the buckwheat and knotweed family Polygonaceae. Common names include knotweed and knotgrass (though the common names may refer more broadly to plants from Polygonaceae). In the ...

'' **''

Reynoutria ''Reynoutria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. The genus is native to eastern China, Eastern Asia and the Russian Far East, although species have been introduced to Europe and North America. Members of the genus, includ ...

'' *Tribe Pteroxygoneae T.M.Schust. & Reveal **'' Pteroxygonum'' *Tribe Rumiceae Dumort. **''

Oxyria Oxyria is a genus of plants in the family Polygonaceae with three accepted species . It has a circumboreal distribution. Description Species of ''Oxyria'' are perennial herbaceous plants or weakly shrubby. They may have rhizomes. Their stems are ...

'' **''

Rheum Rheum (; from Greek: ῥεῦμα ''rheuma'' 'a flowing, rheum') is a thin mucus naturally discharged from the eyes, nose, or mouth, often during sleep (cf. mucopurulent discharge).Amodio, Aime"Where Do Eye Boogers Come From?" Families.com bl ...

'' **''

'' (including ''Emex'') Many species in the subfamily have at one time or another been placed in different genera; for example the invasive Japanese knotweed is currently in the genus ''Reynoutria'', but has been in ''Polygonum'' and ''Fallopia''.

References

{{taxonbar, from1=Q1238742 Caryophyllales subfamilies