The Stipeae are a tribe of grass

Grass

Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

es within the subfamily Pooidae, with up to 600 described species. The defining morphological features of the Stipeae include single-flowered spikelets lacking a rachilla extension, and the lemmas (the external bract) have either a sharp point or a terminal awn (long bristle).

The tribe includes the genera Austrostipa

Austrostipa

Austrostipa is a genus of grass, with about 70 species.The genus includes Australasian species formerly included in the genus Stipa.Species include:*Austrostipa crinita...

, Nassella

Nassella

Nassella is a New World genus of about 115 perennial bunchgrasses found from North America through South America. The Latin name nassa means "a basket with a narrow neck." It is now a segregate from the genus Stipa and includes many New World species formerly classified in that genus.Nasella is...

, Jarava

Jarava

Jarava is a genus in the subfamily Pooideae and the true grass family Poaceae.-Species:* Jarava academica* Jarava ambigua* Jarava ameghinoi* Jarava annua* Jarava arenicola* Jarava arundinacea* Jarava atacamensis...

, Stipa

Stipa

This article is about a type of grass.For Speech Transmission Index for Public Address Systems, see Speech transmission index.For the Italian aircraft designer, see Luigi Stipa...

, Achnatherum

Achnatherum

Achnatherum is a genus of plants which includes several species of needlegrass. Several needlegrass species have been switched between Achnatherum and genus Stipa; taxonomy between the two closely related genera is still uncertain....

, Piptatherum

Piptatherum

Piptatherum is a genus of grasses known as ricegrass. They are widely distributed throughout the temperate and subtropical areas of the world, but most are native to Eurasia...

, Piptochaetium

Piptochaetium

Piptochaetium is a genus of grass in the Poaceae family.- External links :*...

, Aciachne

Aciachne

Aciachne is a genus of grass in the Poaceae family.- External links :*...

, and Hesperostipa. Many species were initially placed into Stipa but have now been split off into new genera. Some recent papers have analysed relationships within and between genera although a complete analysis has not yet been completed. Stipoid grasses use the C3 (cool season) photosynthetic pathway and live in temperate areas worldwide. Known fossil

Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

s date from the late Miocene

Miocene

The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...

.