Sartidia is a genus of Southern African and Madagascan plants in the grass family. It was split from Aristida in 1963 by South African botanist Bernard de Winter[1] and contains six known species, of which Sartidia perrieri is considered extinct.[2] Their natural habitats are warm, semi-arid savanna and dry forest at altitudes of 800–2,000 m (2,600–6,600 ft) where rainfall ranges from 250 to 1,500 mm per year.[2] They are perennial grasses with inflorescence in a panicle.[3]
Other than most species in subfamily Aristidoideae, Sartidia species use the ancestral C3 photosynthetic pathway. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that Sartidia is the sister genus of Stipagrostis, an important C4 genus from Africa and Southwest Asia.[4]
Sartidia is a genus of Southern African and Madagascan plants in the grass family. It was split from Aristida in 1963 by South African botanist Bernard de Winter and contains six known species, of which Sartidia perrieri is considered extinct. Their natural habitats are warm, semi-arid savanna and dry forest at altitudes of 800–2,000 m (2,600–6,600 ft) where rainfall ranges from 250 to 1,500 mm per year. They are perennial grasses with inflorescence in a panicle.
Other than most species in subfamily Aristidoideae, Sartidia species use the ancestral C3 photosynthetic pathway. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that Sartidia is the sister genus of Stipagrostis, an important C4 genus from Africa and Southwest Asia.
Species Sartidia angolensis (C.E.Hubb.) De Winter – Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia Sartidia dewinteri Munday & Fish – Mpumalanga (South Africa), Eswatini Sartidia isaloensis Voronts., Razanatsoa & Besnard – Madagascar Sartidia jucunda (Schweick.) De Winter – Limpopo (South Africa) Sartidia perrieri (A.Camus) Bourreil – Madagascar (extinct) Sartidia vanderystii (De Wild.) De Winter – Democratic Republic of the Congo
