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Major Groups, Families and Genera
Poaceae (Gramineae)
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The grass family (Poaceae) with approximately 10,000 species and 660 genera is ecologically and economically the most important of all plant families.
The herbarium collection of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew contains approximately 350,000 specimens (including 11,000 types) from all over the world. The United Kingdom, South-west Asia, Old and New World Tropics are particularly well represented.
The World Grass Flora provides a unified account of the Poaceae, addressing the problems of retrieval and comparison assicated with the customary piecemeal treatment of large families. It is contained in two databases:
Descriptions - the World Grass Species Database provides computerised character information for 90% of the world's grass species, with work ongoing to complete the remainder.
Nomenclature - the World Grass Species Synonym Database provides lists of names for any given genus, and the accepted name and its synonyms for any given name.
Research projects focus on a variety of areas.
Regional studies:
South America
South-west Asia
Africa
Asia
Pacific
Other research:
Sino-Himalayan bamboos
Agronomic co-operation:
Miscanthus
Brachiaria
Publications: