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.

SETARIA

Robert Webster

Annual, perennial herb
Stems generally erect; internode solid to hollow inside
Leaves basal and cauline; ligule short-hairy or membranous, ciliate
Inflorescence panicle-like, dense, generally cylindric; 1° branches spreading to appressed; spikelets many, generally clustered on one side of short 2° branch, short-stalked to subsessile, subtended by 1–15 bristles, bristles generally scabrous
Spikelet falling as 1 unit, generally elliptic; glumes unequal; florets generally 2, ± equal, lower floret sterile or staminate, palea generally < lemma, upper floret fertile, firm, generally hard, rough, margin inrolled, tip blunt
Species in genus: ± 100 species: warm temp, tropical Eurasia, Africa
Etymology: (Latin: bristly)
Reference: [Rominger 1962 Illinois Biol Monogr 29:1–132]
Some species cultivated for food.

Native

S. gracilis Kunth

Perennial, cespitose, from short rhizomes
Stem erect, 7–12 dm; base with hard, knot-like swellings
Leaf: sheath 4–9 cm, glabrous; ligule < 1 mm; blade < 25 cm, 2–8 mm wide, upper surface glabrous
Inflorescence 3–8 cm; 1° branches 3–8 mm; axis glabrous; bristles 4–12; spikelet stalk << 0.5 mm
Spikelet 2–3 mm, ± 1–1.5 mm wide; lower glume 1–1.5 mm, 3-veined, upper glume 0.5–0.8 X spikelet length; lower floret sterile or staminate, lemma 5–7-veined, tip acute, palea ± = lemma
Ecology: Open areas, grassland, chaparral
Elevation: < 400 m.
Bioregional distribution: Great Central Valley, Central Western California, South Coast, East of Sierra Nevada (very uncommon), Mojave Desert
Distribution outside California: to e US, C.America, S.America
Flowering time: May–Sep
Synonyms: S. geniculata (Lam.) P. Beauv. misapplied
Horticultural information: STBL.