Common Name: GRASS FAMILY Habit: Annual to woody perennial herb; 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, sometimes achene- or utricle-like. Genera In Family: 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). Note: 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 California 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 southern California (J Bot Res Inst Texas 4:761--770). See Glossary p. 30 for illustrations of general family characteristics. eFlora Treatment Author: James P. Smith, Jr., except as noted Scientific Editor: James P. Smith, Jr., J. Travis Columbus, Dieter H. Wilken.
Common Name: DROPSEED, SACATON Habit: Annual, perennial herb. Stem: generally ascending to erect, 2--20 dm, generally tufted, +- solid in ×-section. Leaf: generally basal; cauline few, ascending or curving away; distal sheath margin and collar glabrous or hairy; ligule < 1 mm, hairy or membranous, fringed; blade flat to inrolled, generally glabrous or scabrous, occasionally short-soft-hairy. Inflorescence: terminal, also occasionally axillary, panicle- or spike-like, generally partly enclosed by sheath; branches spreading or appressed. Spikelet: < 6 mm, generally pale to gray-green or +- purple; glumes generally unequal, upper < or > lemma, membranous to translucent, 1-veined; floret bisexual, generally breaking above glumes; lemma texture generally like glumes, 1(3)-veined; palea < or > lemma. Fruit: utricle-like, when wet gelatinous with seed emergent from split ovary wall. Etymology: (Greek: to throw seed, from deciduous seeds) eFlora Treatment Author: Michael Curto Reference: Peterson et al. 2003 FNANM 25:115--139 Unabridged Reference: Baaijens & Veldkamp 1991 Blumea 35: 393--458; Colbry 1957 Cont US Natl Mus 34:1--24; Veldkamp 1990 Taxon 39:327--328
Sporobolus indicus (L.) R. Br.
NATURALIZED Habit: Perennial herb. Stem: tufted, erect, 3--6(12) dm. Leaf: base dull, green to brown, margin glabrous or ciliate, collar glabrous; ligule < 0.5 mm, fringe hairs to 1 mm; blade 6--30 cm, 1--5 mm wide. Inflorescence: generally terminal, exserted or base sheathed, contracted, dense, branches and spikelets to near base; 1° branches appressed, lowest generally < 2 cm, > internodes, 2° appressed, bearing 3°, spikelets to near base, appearing dense. Spikelet: 1.5--2.5 mm, green or lead-colored; glumes ovate, tip obtuse, often jagged, unequal, lower 0.5--1 mm, upper 0.8--1.6, < 0.6 × lemma; lemma 1.8--2.5 mm, glabrous, ovate, tip obtuse; anthers 0.5--1 mm. Fruit: 1--1.2 mm, 4-angled, striate, red-brown. Chromosomes: 2n=36. Ecology: Open, disturbed areas, roadsides; Elevation: < 1200 m. Bioregional Distribution: ScV, n SnJV, CW (exc SCoRI), SCo, PR; Distribution Outside California: to southeastern United States, Caribbean, Mexico; pantropical. Flowering Time: Apr--Nov Synonyms: Sporobolus creber DeNardi; Sporobolus indicus (L.) R. Br. var. creber (DeNardi) Veldkamp; Sporobolus poiretii (Roem. & Schult.) Hitchc., misappl. Unabridged Note: Plants from ScV (Glenn Co.) with collar hairs to 2 mm, panicle interrupted, main axis evident, spikelets 1--1.5 mm, lemma 1.1--1.5 mm, anthers 0.4--0.6 mm, fruit 0.7--0.8 mm conform to Sporobolus indicus var. creber (DeNardi) Veldkamp [Sporobolus creber DeNardi, e.g. FNANM 25:124], a minor variant from Australia (New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria), Malesia, New Caledonia, Fiji. Jepson eFlora Author: Michael Curto Reference: Peterson et al. 2003 FNANM 25:115--139 Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Previous taxon: Sporobolus flexuosus Next taxon: Sporobolus vaginiflorus
Citation for this treatment: Michael Curto 2012, Sporobolus indicus, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=45308, accessed on April 16, 2024.
Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on April 16, 2024.
Geographic subdivisions for Sporobolus indicus:
ScV, n SnJV, CW (exc SCoRI), SCo, PR
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(Note: any qualifiers in the taxon distribution description, such as 'northern', 'southern', 'adjacent' etc., are not reflected in the map above, and in some cases indication of a taxon in a subdivision is based on a single collection or author-verified occurence).
Data provided by the participants of the
Consortium of California Herbaria.
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