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.

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.