A systematic treatment of the Brazilian species of Paspalum tradicionally included in the informal group Linearia is provided, including the critical analysis of each species and of their synonymy, as well as considerations on the consistency of the group and its relationships with the adjacent Notata group. An analytical key is presented to diferentiate the taxa under treatment, including very similar species of the Notata group. Detailed morphological descriptions, illustrations, geographic and ecological data, and chromosome numbers are provided. Seven species are treated in detail: Paspalum approximatum, P. crispulum, P. dedeccae, P. ellipticum, P. filifolium, P. lineare and P. pallens. Paspalum ellipticum and P. pallens are not considered as very typical members of the Linearia alliance.
