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.

KOELERIA

Dieter H. Wilken

Annual, perennial herb
Stems erect
Leaves basal to cauline; ligule membranous, glabrous to minutely ciliate, toothed at obtuse to truncate tip; blade narrow, flat to inrolled
Inflorescence panicle-like, generally compact, narrow
Spikelet laterally compressed; glumes unequal, upper > and wider than lower, keeled, acute, lower 1-veined, upper faintly 3–5-veined; axis prolonged beyond fertile floret, bristly (sometimes with vestigial floret at tip); florets 2–5, bisexual, breaking above glumes and between florets; lower lemmas generally > glumes, awned or not, 5-veined; palea ± < lemma, tip minutely 2-forked
Species in genus: ± 30 species: temp North America, Eurasia
Etymology: (G.L. Koeler, Germany, born 1765)

Native

K. macrantha (Ledeb.) Schult.

JUNEGRASS

Perennial, cespitose
Stems 2–7 dm, glabrous to puberulent
Leaves generally basal, tufted, glabrous to puberulent; ligule 1–2 mm; blade 3–20 cm, 1–2(3) mm wide, generally ridged
Inflorescence 2–15 cm, 1–2 cm wide, cylindric to narrowly conic, axis and branches puberulent
Spikelet 4–6 mm, ± shiny, tan (sometimes purplish); florets 2–3(4); glumes and lower lemmas minutely scabrous on back; lower glume ± 3 mm, upper ± 5 mm; lemmas 3–5 mm, acute to small-pointed at tip
Chromosomes: 2n=14
Ecology: Dry, open sites, clay to rocky soils, scrub, woodland, coniferous forest, alpine
Elevation: < 3500 m.
Bioregional distribution: Northwestern California, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, Central Western California, Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, Great Basin Floristic Province, Desert Mountains
Distribution outside California: to Alaska, e Canada, c&e US, n Mexico
Flowering time: May–Jul
Synonyms: K. cristata (L.) Pers., an illegitimate name; K. pyramidata (Lam.) P. Beauv. misapplied
Horticultural information: DRN: 4, 5, 6, 14, 15, 16, 17 &IRR, part SHD: 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24; also STBL.