page_title: Oplismenus
section_title: Taxonomy
hierarchical_section_title: Oplismenus / Taxonomy
caption_attribution_description: English: Oplismenus hirtellus (habit). Location: Maui, Hana Hwy
context_page_description: Oplismenus is a small genus of annual or perennial grasses, commonly known as basketgrass, found throughout the tropics, subtropics, and in some cases, temperate regions of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The systematics of the genus are unclear, with over 100 described species, only 7 species are officially recognized as of 2016.
context_section_description: The French naturalist Palisot de Beauvois described the genus in August or September 1810 in his Flore d'Oware et de Benin.  At a later date, however, it was noted that Robert Brown had also defined the genus earlier the same year, as Orthopogon, in his work Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae.  Nevertheless, because the name Oplismenus  had been universally used for many years, it was ruled a nomen conservandum (conserved name) in 1978. The generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek hoplismenos ("armed"),  because the glumes have awns.
  The number of species is unclear, with some disagreement among botanists. In Australia, Oplismenus aemulus and O. imbecillis are recognised as separate species by the Queensland and New South Wales Herbaria, but not by the National Herbarium, which classifies them as synonyms of O. hirtellus.
  A multiple discriminant analysis published in 1978 of the characteristics used to define the species of Oplismenus worldwide found a high degree of overlap in Australia, indicating O. aemulus and O. imbecilis fell within the parameters of O. hirtellus, as did the American taxon O. setarius. The other American taxon, O. rariflorus, fell within O. compositus. The authors proposed the recognition of only five species:
  Oplismenus burmannii - pantropical
  Oplismenus thwaitesii - Sri Lanka (may be synonymous with O. burmannii)
  Oplismenus compositus - Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia, Pacific
  Oplismenus hirtellus - tropics, but replaced in India and Indochina by O. compositus
  Oplismenus undulatifolius - widespread
  The German botanist Ursula Scholz published a monograph in 1981, having studied the genus throughout the world and examined over five thousand specimens, including 61 type specimens. She recognized nine species and 18 infraspecific taxa.
  Section Scabriseta
  O. affinis Schult.
  O. affinis var. affinis
  O. affinis var. humboldtianus
  O. baronii
  O. burmannii
  O. burmannii var. burmannii
  O. burmannii var. lanatus
  O. burmannii var. multisetus
  O. flavicomus
  O. gracillimus
  O. humbertianus
  Section Oplismenus
  O. aemulus
  O. aemulus var. aemulus
  O.  aemulus var. flaccidus
  O.  aemulus var. densiflorus
  O. compositus
  O.  compositus var. compositus
  O.  compositus var. rariflorus
  O.  compositus var. sylvaticus
  O. hirtellus
  O.  hirtellus subsp. hirtellus
  O.  hirtellus subsp. acuminatus
  O.  hirtellus subsp. capensis
  O.  hirtellus subsp. fasciculatus
  O.  hirtellus subsp. imbecillis
  O.  hirtellus subsp. japonicus
  O.  hirtellus subsp. microphyllus
  O.  hirtellus subsp. psilostachys
  O.  hirtellus subsp. setarius
  O.  hirtellus subsp. tsushimensis
  O.  hirtellus subsp. undulatifolius
caption: Oplismenus hirtellus
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