Jepson Interchange (more information)
Print edition is available from the University of California Press
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This page is based on the 1993 Jepson Manual.
Please see the Jepson eFlora for up-to-date information about California vascular plants. |
| Jepson Flora Project: Jepson Interchange |
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TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL |
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Jepson Interchange (more information) |
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©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 |
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.
Perennial in CA, generally from rhizomes or stolons
Stems decumbent to erect; internode solid to hollow inside
Leaves basal and cauline; sheath glabrous or hairy; ligule generally membranous
Inflorescence panicle-like; axis generally glabrous; 1° branches raceme- to spike-like, spreading to appressed; spikelets many, 1–2 per node, generally short-stalked, on one side of axis
Spikelet falling as 1 unit, compressed, generally green; glumes 1–2, lower glume minute or 0, upper ± = spikelet; florets 2, lower floret generally sterile, palea vestigial or 0, upper floret fertile, lemma firm, thick, sometimes hard, back facing inflorescence axis, smooth or striate, margin inrolled, tip blunt
Species in genus: ± 300 species: tropical, warm temp worldwide
Etymology: (Greek: ancient name)
Reference: [Gould 1975 The Grasses of Texas pp. 500–527, Texas A&M Press]
| Introduced |
Perennial from short rhizomes
Stem decumbent to erect, 2.5–14 dm; nodes 2–6
Leaf: sheath 6–30 cm, glabrous to hairy; ligule 2–8 mm; blade 9–35 cm, 4–10 mm wide, upper surface glabrous, sometimes sparsely hairy at base
Inflorescence: main axis 3–20 cm; 1° branches 3–6, 4–12.5 cm; spikelets many, 2 per node, stalk 1–1.5 mm
Spikelet 3–4 mm, 2–2.5 mm wide, elliptic, green to purple; lower glume 0; lower floret lemma 5–9-veined, tip acute to rounded; upper floret 0.7–0.9 X lower floret length
Chromosomes: 2n=40,50
Ecology: Moist places, ditches, roadsides
Elevation: < 400 m.
Bioregional distribution: California Floristic Province, Mojave Desert
Distribution outside California: to Washington, e US, Europe; native to S.America
Flowering time: May–Nov
| YOU CAN HELP US make sure that our distributional information is correct and current. If you know that a plant occurs in a wild, reproducing state in a Jepson bioregion NOT highlighted on the map, please contact us with that information. Please realize that we cannot incorporate range extensions without access to a voucher specimen, which should (ultimately) be deposited in an herbarium. You can send the pressed, dried collection (with complete locality information indicated) to us (e-mail us for details) or refer us to an accessioned herbarium specimen. Non-occurrence of a plant in an indicated area is difficult to document, but we will especially value your input on those types of possible errors (see automatic conversion of distribution data to maps). |
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