TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL	previous taxon | next taxon Jepson Interchange (more information)
	©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California Print edition is available from the University of California Press

	The second edition of The Jepson Manual (2012) is available from the University of California Press
	See also the Jepson eFlora, which parallels the Second Edition

POACEAE

GRASS FAMILY

James P. Smith, Jr., except as specified

Annual to bamboo-like; roots generally fibrous
Stem generally round, hollow; nodes swollen, solid
Leaves alternate, 2-ranked, generally linear; 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; stamens generally 3; stigmas generally 2, generally plumose
Fruit: achene-like grain
Genera in family: 650–900 genera; ± 10,000 species: worldwide; greatest economic importance of any family (wheat, rice, maize, millet, sorghum, sugar cane, forage crops, ornamental, weeds; thatching, weaving, building materials). [Hitchcock 1951 Manual grasses US, USDA Misc Publ 200; Clayton & Renvoise 1986 Kew Bull Add Series 13] See Glossary p. 26 for illustrations of general family characteristics. Generally wind-pollinated.

BOUTELOUA

GRAMA

J. Travis Columbus

Annual, perennial herb, generally cespitose
Stem solid, generally glabrous
Leaves generally basal; ligule generally < 1 mm, generally hairy; blade flat to inrolled, upper surface generally ± short-hairy, often ciliate near ligule, hairs long, bulbous-based
Inflorescence generally panicle-like; branches spike-like, 1 per node, persistent or deciduous in fruit; spikelets 2-rowed on 1 side of axis, overlapping
Spikelet sessile or short-stalked, ± cylindric to laterally compressed; glumes generally unequal, generally lanceolate, 1-veined, upper glume firmer than lower; axis (if inflorescence branch persistent) breaking between glumes and lower floret; florets generally 2–3, lower floret bisexual, > upper, upper florets generally vestigial, sterile; lemmas 3-veined, generally 3-awned, awns straight, scabrous; palea ± = lemma
Species in genus: ± 40 species: Am
Etymology: (Claudio (born 1774) and Esteban (born 1776) Boutelou, Spanish botanists, horticulturists)
Reference: [Gould 1979 Ann Missouri Bot Gard 66:348–416]
Many species important for forage.

Native

B. curtipendula (Michx.) Torr.

SIDE-OATS GRAMA

Perennial, sometimes rhizomed
Stem generally erect, 2–9 dm
Leaf: blade < 25 cm, < 4 mm wide
Inflorescence: branches 13–60, 5–20 mm, generally pendent, deciduous in fruit; branch axis slightly exceeding terminal spikelet node, base puberulent; spikelets 1–13 per branch, ascending to appressed, falling with branch
Spikelet: upper glume 3–10 mm, glabrous or scabrous, acute or awned < 0.5 mm; florets 1–2; lower floret lemma < to ± = upper glume, glabrous or sparsely hairy, lobes 0, awns 2, < 2 mm; base of upper floret (if present) glabrous, tip 2-lobed, central awn from sinus, < 6 mm, lateral awns < 4 mm
Chromosomes: 2n=20,28,35,40–103
Ecology: Dry, rocky slopes, crevices, sandy to rocky drainages, scrub, woodland
Elevation: < 1900 m.
Bioregional distribution: s Sacramento Valley (Yolo Co. as roadside waif), Peninsular Ranges (Santa Rosa, Cuyamaca mtns), e&s Desert Mountains
Distribution outside California: to s Canada, e US, S.America
Flowering time: May–Aug
Plants with erect stems and rhizomes 0 have been called var. caespitosa Gould & Kapadia
Horticultural information: DRN, SUN: 2, 3, 7, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 24 &IRR: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23; also STBL.