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.

SPARTINA

CORD GRASS

John R. Baird and John W. Thieret

Perennial, generally with rhizomes
Stem erect, unbranched
Leaves basal and cauline; sheath open, > internodes, glabrous, margin of sheath opening sometimes with long, shaggy hairs; ligule a fringe of hairs, 0.5–2 mm; blade flat to inrolled, long tapered, upper surface ridged
Inflorescence panicle-like; each spike-like branch with 2 rows of overlapping spikelets on lower side of axis
Spikelet laterally compressed, sessile, breaking below glumes, falling as 1 unit; glumes firmly membranous, obtuse to acuminate or with a small, sharp point, unequal, upper 1–3(5)-veined, generally > floret, lower 1-veined, < floret; floret 1; lemma 1(3)-veined, acute, awned or not, firmly membranous; palea ± = lemma, 2-veined
Species in genus: 15 species: Am, Eur, Africa
Etymology: (Greek: a cord)
Reference: [Spicher & Josselyn 1985 Madroño 32:158–167]

Native

S. gracilis Trin.

ALKALI CORD GRASS

Rhizome 3–5 mm wide
Stem generally solitary, 1.8–10 dm, 2–5 mm wide at base, slender, internodes firm
Leaf: blade 15–27 cm, 2.5–6 mm wide at base, generally inrolled when fresh, ridges on upper surface ± 5 per mm
Inflorescence 4–25 cm, 5–12 mm wide, compact; branches 2–12, overlapping (often for only 1/2 their length, or lowest spike rarely separated), appressed, 1.5–8 cm, 2–6 mm wide
Spikelet 6–11 mm; glume and lemma keels ciliate (hairs generally 0.3–1 mm) at least near tip; lower glume 3–7 mm; upper glume 5–11 mm; lemma 6.5–10 mm
Chromosomes: 2n=40,42
Ecology: UNCOMMON. Alkaline lake shores, streambanks, meadows, marshes
Elevation: 1000–2100 m.
Bioregional distribution: East of Sierra Nevada, n Mojave Desert
Distribution outside California: to n&e Canada, Kansas, New Mexico
Flowering time: Jun–Aug
Horticultural information: WET, SUN: 1, 2, 3; STBL, salt tolerant.