85. Agropyron Gaertn. (crested wheatgrass)
One to 15 species, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand.
As circumscribed here, the genus Agropyron is
restricted to a relatively small group of closely related Old World species.
Other taxa included in the genus in much of the older literature (Steyermark,
1963) are here recognized under an expanded concept of Elymus (see
treatment below). Agropyron in the strict sense is defined by details of
its inflorescence structure, genome type, relatively low ploidy levels, and
outcrossing, sexual breeding system.