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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.

LEERSIA

CUTGRASS

Dieter H. Wilken

Perennial from long rhizomes
Stems generally solitary, decumbent to erect
Leaves cauline; ligule membranous; blade flat to folded
Inflorescence panicle-like, open; lateral branchlets, spikelet stalks arched to wavy
Spikelet laterally compressed; glumes 0; floret 1, bisexual, falling as 1 unit; lemma, palea firmly membranous; lemma strigose on back, awnless, 5-veined; palea ± = lemma
Species in genus: 17 species: tropical, warm temp Am, Eurasia
Etymology: (J.D. Leers, Germany, born 1727)
Reference: [Pyrah 1969 Iowa State Coll J Sci 44:215–270]

Native

L. oryzoides (L.) Sw.

RICE CUTGRASS


Stems 1–1.5 m; nodes short, soft-hairy
Leaf: sheath glabrous to minutely scabrous; ligule ± 1 mm, truncate; blade 10–28 cm, 8–14 mm wide, margin strongly scabrous, with downward-pointing teeth
Inflorescence 12–20 cm; lower branches ± spreading
Spikelet 4–5 mm, oblong to narrowly elliptic; lemma 4–5 mm, width 3–5 X palea width, strigose on back
Chromosomes: 2n=48
Ecology: Marshes, streams, ponds
Elevation: < 700 m.
Bioregional distribution: Northwestern California, ne South Coast, East of Sierra Nevada (Owens Valley)
Distribution outside California: to British Columbia, e N.America, Eurasia
Flowering time: Aug–Oct
Lateral inflorescences enclosed by sheath, generally cleistogamous
Horticultural information: STBL.

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