Jepson Herbarium
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Annual to woody per; roots generally fibrous.
Stem: generally round, hollow; nodes swollen, solid.
Leaf: alternate, 2-ranked, generally linear, parallel-veined; sheath generally open; ligule membranous or hairy, at blade base.
Inflorescence: various (of generally many spikelets).
Spikelet: glumes generally 2; florets ( lemma, palea, flower) 1–many; lemma generally membranous, sometimes glume-like; palea generally ± transparent, ± enclosed by lemma.
Flower: generally bisexual, minute; perianth vestigial; stamens generally 3; stigmas generally 2, generally plumose.
Fruit: grain (rarely achene-like).
650–900 genera; ± 10550 species: worldwide; greatest economic importance of any family (wheat, rice, maize, millet, sorghum, sugar cane, forage crops, ornamental, weeds; thatching, weaving, building materials). [Barkworth et al. 2003 FNANM:25; Barkworth et al. 2007 FNANM:24] Generally wind-pollinated. Achnatherum, Ampelodesmos, Hesperostipa, Nassella, Piptatherum, Piptochaetium, Ptilagrostis moved to Stipa; Elytrigia, Leymus, Pascopyrum, Pseudoroegneria, Taeniatherum to Elymus; Hierochloe to Anthoxanthum; Lolium, Vulpia to Festuca; Lycurus to Muhlenbergia; Monanthochloe to Distichlis; Pleuraphis to Hilaria; Rhynchelytrum to Melinis. The following taxa (in genera not included here), recorded in CA from historical collections or reported in literature, are extirpated, lacking vouchers, or not considered naturalized: Acrachne racemosa (Roth) Ohwi, Allolepis texana (Vasey) Soderstr. & H.F. Decker, Amphibromus nervosus (Hook. f.) Baill., Axonopus affinis Chase, Axonopus fissifolius (Raddi) Kuhlm., Coix lacryma-jobi L., Cutandia memphitica (Spreng.) K. Richt., Dinebra retroflexa (Vahl) Panz., Eremochloa ciliaris (L.) Merr., Eustachys distichophylla (Lag.) Nees, Gaudinia fragilis (L.) P. Beauv., Miscanthus sinensis Andersson, Neyraudia arundinacea (L.) Henrard, Phyllostachys aurea Rivière & C. Rivière, Phyllostachys bambusoides Siebold & Zuccarini, Rottboellia cochinchinensis (Lour.) Clayton, Schedonnardus paniculatus (Nutt.) Branner & Coville, Schizachyrium cirratum (Hack.) Wooton & Standl., Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash, Themeda quadrivalvis (L.) Kuntze, Thysanolaena latifolia (Hornem.) Honda, Tribolium obliterum (Hemsl.) Renvoize, Zea mays L., Zizania palustris L. var. interior (Fassett) Dore, Zoysia japonica Steud. Paspalum pubiflorum E. Fourn., Paspalum quadrifarium Lam., are now reported for s CA (J Bot Res Inst Texas 4:761–770). See Glossary p. 30 for illustrations of general family characteristics. —Scientific Editors: James P. Smith, Jr., J. Travis Columbus, Dieter H. Wilken.
Unabridged references: [Hitchcock 1951 Manual grasses US, USDA Misc Publ 200; Clayton & Renvoise 1986 Kew Bull Add Series 13]

Key to Poaceae

Annual, perennial herb.
Stem: generally erect and tufted; internode solid or hollow.
Leaf: basal and cauline; sheath generally glabrous; ligule short-hairy or membranous, ciliate.
Inflorescence: terminal and/or axillary, generally panicle-like, dense, ± cylindric ( raceme-like in Pennisetum clandestinum); spikelets generally many, short-stalked to sessile, generally in clusters of 1–4 on highly reduced branches, subtended by 6–many inner and outer sets of bristles and a single terminal generally >> than the others; spikelet cluster and bristles generally falling as 1 unit.
Spikelet: dorsally compressed to ± round in ×-section; glumes 1–2, lower glume < upper when present; upper ± = spikelet; florets 2, lower floret sterile or staminate; upper floret fertile, lemma firm, ± thick or hard, smooth or scabrous, generally dull, margin flat to inrolled, tip blunt; palea < lemma, = in texture; anthers 3.
± 80 species: mostly warm temperate, subtrop, tropics. (Latin: feather or plume + bristle, conspicuous bristles subtending spikelets) [Wipff 2003 FNANM 25:517–529] Separation of Pennisetum from Cenchrus remains unsettled. Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br., Pennisetum latifolium Spreng., Pennisetum macrourum Trin., Pennisetum nervosum (Nees) Trin., Pennisetum purpureum Schumach. have been collected in CA, but none has become naturalized. Some species cultivated for ornamental, food (pearl millet), fodder, fiber for paper-making; others are aggressive weeds.

Perennial from knotty base, short rhizomes present or 0.
Stem: erect, 1–15 dm, glabrous (except sometimes below inflorescence).
Leaf: sheath 2–7 cm, glabrous or hairy; ligule 0.5–3 mm; blade 3–25(50) cm, 2.5–13 mm wide, glabrous or pubescent on both sides, green or glaucous.
Inflorescence: panicle-like, 2–13 cm; main axis straight; outer subtending bristles 16–90, to 12 mm; inner bristles 7–20, 4–14 mm, fused to 1/4 length, terminal bristle 10–23 mm, long- ciliate.
Spikelet: 2.5–5.5 mm, lanceolate to ovate, gray to green; lower glume 1–3 mm, upper ± 1.5–3.5 mm; lower floret staminate or sterile, lemma 2.5–5.5 mm; palea present or 0.
2n=45. Disturbed areas; < 110 m. South Coast, Peninsular Ranges, Sonoran Desert;

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Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) [year] Jepson eFlora, http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/IJM.html [accessed on month, day, year]
Citation for an individual treatment: [Author of taxon treatment] [year]. [Taxon name] in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, [URL for treatment]. Accessed on [month, day, year].

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Bioregions in which taxon occurs	Red area (if present) is the part of the bioregion lying between the upper and lower elevation limits of the taxon; markers link to CCH specimen records. If the markers are obscured, reload the page [or change window size and reload]. Yellow markers indicate records that may have georeferencing or identification issues.
Chart based on elevation range in Manual and elevations and coordinates of CCH records. Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria. Note: About half of the CCH records include both elevation and coordinates.	Map made in collaboration with Scott Loarie. Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria. View all CCH records   CCH collections by month Duplicates counted once; synonyms included. Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa. Blue line denotes Manual flowering time.