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• Premise of the study: Atripliceae (Chenopodiaceae), including Atriplex (300 spp.) as the largest genus of the family, are an ecologically important group of steppes and semideserts worldwide. Relationships in Atripliceae are poorly understood due to obscure and potentially convergent morphological characters.

• Methods: Using sequence variation of two chloroplast markers (rbcL gene, atpB‐rbcL spacer) and one nrDNA marker (ITS) analyzed with BEAST, we investigated the systematics and biogeography of Atripliceae. We surveyed flower morphology and fruit anatomy to study the evolution of flowers and fruits in the tribe.

• Key results: Female flowers with persistent foliar cover (the diagnostic character of traditional Atripliceae) evolved three times in Chenopodioideae, in Atripliceae s.s., Axyrideae, and Spinacia. Atripliceae s.s. started to diversify during the Early Miocene in Eurasia, separating into the …