Leptoloma Chase is a genus of grasses (Poaceae: Panicoideae) comprising five species, all of which are endemic to North America. The taxonomic placement of Leptoloma has changed over time, and it is often treated as an infrageneric taxon within the genus Digitaria Haller. Leptoloma is distinguished morphologically from other closely related clades by having an open paniculate type inflorescence, with spikelets usually being solitary on elongated pedicels. All species of Leptoloma and a few others in Digitaria are often referred to as the ‘tumbleweed crabgrasses’ because most species in this group have an inflorescence that dehisces and forms a tumbleweed at maturity. To date, no molecular phylogeny performed on Digitaria has included any Leptoloma species other than L. cognatum, leaving the taxonomic status of these species unclear. Understanding the relationship of Leptoloma to Digitaria is of interest, given that many species in these genera are economically important. Digitaria is a diverse genus, potentially containing up to 280 species, many of which are listed as noxious weeds, serve as forage for livestock, or are utilized as grains for human consumption. Within Digitaria, species relationships have yet to be fully resolved and phylogenies of the tribe Paniceae (subfamily Panicoideae) show Digitaria as being paraphyletic. Unraveling the evolutionary history of Leptoloma can help resolve some of these problems by increasing sampling size and supplying molecular data for species that have not previously been sequenced. Considering these issues, the overarching goal of this study is to perform the first comprehensive molecular phylogeny of Leptoloma, test its monophyly, and determine its relationship to Digitaria. Sequence data for six plastid markers that have already proven useful in resolving relationships in closely related groups within the grass family will be used. Leaf tissue for DNA extraction from previously unsequenced species was acquired through fieldwork and from herbarium specimens. DNA sequences of species that have already been sequenced will be obtained from GenBank. Once the monophyly of this group has been established, future work will seek to disentangle species relationships in this group through population-level analyses, and the evolutionary history of the tumbleweed trait and the molecular mechanisms behind rhizome development will also be investigated.