Jepson Interchange (more information)
Print edition is available from the University of California Press
|
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 |
|
|
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 |
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.
Annual, perennial herb, cespitose or with rhizomes
Stem erect; internodes generally solid
Leaves cauline; sheaths generally < internodes; ligule membranous; blades flat or folded
Inflorescence panicle-like, open to compact
Spikelets in pairs (trios at branch tips); lower sessile, bisexual; upper 1(2) stalked, staminate; pair with subtending axis segment falling as 1 unit
Sessile spikelet ovoid; lower glume leathery, shiny, glabrous to puberulent, enclosing upper glume, florets; florets 2, lower sterile, upper fertile; lemma membranous, fertile lemma awned, awn bent, twisted; palea < lemma
Species in genus: ± 20 species: tropical, subtropical, Africa. Cult for food, forage, sugar
Etymology: (Italian: Sorgho)
Reference: [de Wet 1978 Amer J Bot 65:477–484]
| Introduced |
Annual
Stem erect, 1–2 m
Leaf: blade 3–10 cm wide
Inflorescence 1–4 dm, open to compact; branches ± spreading to stiffly erect
Sessile spikelet 4–9 mm; lemma 4–5 mm, awn 5–10 mm or 0
Chromosomes: 2n=20
Ecology: Disturbed areas, roadsides, fallow fields
Elevation: < 600 m.
Bioregional distribution: North Coast, North Coast Ranges, Great Central Valley, Central Coast, South Coast, Desert
Distribution outside California: widely cultivated, native to Africa
Synonyms: S. lanceolatum Stapf, S. sudanense (Piper) Stapf, S. virgatum (Hack.) Stapf
| 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). |
|