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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)
Reference: [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.

ERIOCHLOA

Robert Webster

Annual, perennial herb
Stems decumbent to erect
Leaves basal and cauline; sheath glabrous or hairy; ligule generally < 1 mm, membrane hairy-fringed; blade generally flat
Inflorescence panicle-like, ± dense; 1° branches spreading to appressed; 2° branches appressed; spikelets many, 1–2 per node, short-stalked to subsessile, on one side of axis
Spikelet lanceolate, ± compressed, generally green, falling as 1 unit; glumes strongly unequal, lower glume generally 0, fused to spikelet base to form a disk- or cup-like ring between stalk and upper glume, upper glume ± = spikelet; florets 2, lower floret sterile, generally acuminate, palea 0, upper floret fertile, lemma firm or hard, generally wrinkled, margin inrolled, tip short-pointed to awned
Species in genus: ± 30 species: warm temp, tropical, worldwide
Etymology: (Latin: woolly grass)
Reference: [Shaw & Webster 1987 Sida 12:165–207]

Introduced

E. contracta Hitchc.

Annual
Stem 2–10 dm; nodes 2–5
Leaf: sheath 4–8 cm, glabrous to short-hairy; blade generally 8–12 cm, 2–8 mm wide, upper surface generally short-hairy
Inflorescence: main axis 6–20 cm; 1° branches 1.5–4.5(6) cm; spikelets generally 1 per node; stalk = or < 1 mm
Spikelet 3.5–4.5 mm, ± 1–2 mm wide, becoming purple; lower glume ± = spikelet; lower floret lemma 3–7-veined; upper floret ± 0.7 X lower floret length
Ecology: Seasonal streams, ditches, irrigated fields
Elevation: < 100 m.
Bioregional distribution: Deltaic Great Central Valley (Solano Co.), Southwestern California, Sonoran Desert
Distribution outside California: native to c&s US

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