Abstract
On the basis of recent molecular studies (e.g., Harbaugh et al. 2010, Greenberg & Donoghue 2011, Dillenberger & Kadereit 2014, Sadeghian et al. 2015), the genus Arenaria Linnaeus (1753: 423), as traditionally circumscribed, cannot be manteined, and 4 genera are currently recognized: Eremogone Fenzl (1833: 13) [≡ Arenaria subg. Eremogone (Fenzl) Fenzl (1842: 360)], Odontostemma Bentham ex Don (1831: 449) [≡ Arenaria subg. Odontostemma (Benth. ex Don) Williams (1895: 603)], Solitaria (McNeill 1962: 128) Sadeghian & Zarre (2015: 667) (≡ Arenaria subg. Solitaria McNeill), and Arenaria s.str. The criticism of this genus also occurs at lower ranks (subgenus, section, series) as showed by several botanists (e.g., McNeill 1962, Jackson & Parnell 1987, Li-hua 1996, Valcárcel et al. 2006, Iamonico 2013, Pusalkar & Singh 2015).