Composite List of C₄Weeds

Abstract

C 4 plants account for a small fraction of the total number of plant species (fewer than 1000 out of 250 000). A larger proportion of the world's weed species possess C 4 physiology. There are 2000 species in 500 genera and 125 families of flowering plants listed in the WSSA composite list of weeds. of that number, 146 species in 53 genera and 10 families exhibit the C 4 syndrome. This, as a percentage, is 17-fold greater than the percentage of C 4 plants in the total world plant population. In this report, we have listed the C 4 -weed species and provide specific information concerning various aspects of their Kranz anatomy and C 4 physiology.