Review of Pennisetum section Brevivalvula (Poaceae)

Section Brevivalvula is one of five sections in the large tropical grass genus Pennisetum. It belongs to the tertiary genepool of P. glaucum (L.) R. Br., pearl millet, and consists of six morphological taxa: P. atrichum Stapf & Hubb., P. hordeoides (Lam.) Steud., P. pedicellatum Trin., P. polystachion (L.) Schult., P. setosum (Swartz) L. Rich. and P. subangustum (Schum.) Stapf & Hubb., which together form a polyploid and agamic complex. Four euploid (x = 9) and twelve aneuploid chromosome levels have been found till now; the polyploids are apomictic, while diploid populations of P. polystachion and P. subangustum are considered sexual. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.