Megalachne

Megalachne is a genus of Chilean plants in the grass family, found only on the Juan Fernández Islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of the Republic of Chile. It contains a single species, Megalachne berteroniana. A genetic analysis found it to be most closely related to the extinct Podophorus, also endemic to the Juan Fernández archipelago. This clade was in turn found to be nested within a paraphyletic Festuca, most closely related to F. pampeana of South America. Several species formerly included in genus Megalachne are now considered synonyms of species placed in other genera: Megalachne dantonii Penneck. & Gl.Rojas – synonym of Festuca dolichathera Röser & Tkach Megalachne masafuerana (Skottsb. & Pilg.) Matthei – synonym of Festuca masafuerana (Skottsb. & Pilg.) Röser & Tkach Megalachne robinsoniana C.M.Peña – synonym of Festuca robinsoniana (C.M.Peña) Röser & Tkach Megalachne zeylanica Thwaites - synonym of Eriachne triseta Nees ex Steud. ...read more on Wikipedia.