TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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Jepson Interchange (more information) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora. |
AND IS MAINTAINED FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY |
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) 1many; 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: 650900 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.
Perennial, mat-like, dioecious
Stems: central prostrate to decumbent, widely creeping, rooting at nodes; lateral ascending to erect
Leaves cauline, tufted on prostrate stems, densely clustered on erect branches; sheath open, persistent, fibrous with age; ligule ring-like, ciliate; blade generally oblong, thick, obtuse to pointed
Spikelet generally 1, sessile to short-stalked, concealed by upper leaf blades, unisexual; glumes 0; florets 35, lower 12 fertile, upper sterile; florets of staminate spikelet breaking apart, lemmas firmly membranous; florets of pistillate spikelet weakly breaking apart or not, lower lemmas hard, strongly enfolding flower and fruit; palea ± = lemma, membranous
Species in genus: 2 species: warm temp North America, Cuba, Mex; also Argentina
Etymology: (Greek: one-flower grass)
Native |
Stems: prostrate 38 dm; lateral 523 cm
Leaves: upper ± 2-ranked; sheath 512 mm, scarious; blade 412 mm
Spikelet 511 mm; staminate floret sessile to short-pedicelled; pistillate floret sessile, generally concealed by leaves
Ecology: Salt marshes
Elevation: ± 0 m.
Bioregional distribution: South Coast, Channel Islands, Sonoran Desert (Salton Sea);
Distribution outside California: to s US, Cuba, Mexico
Flowering time: MayJun
Horticultural information: STBL.