| TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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Jepson Interchange (more information) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora. |
AND IS MAINTAINED FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY |
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.
Annual, sometimes perennial herb
Stems decumbent to erect; internode spongy inside
Leaves basal and cauline; sheath generally glabrous; ligule generally 0; blade generally flat, upper surface generally glabrous
Inflorescence panicle-like, ± dense; branches generally ascending to appressed, axis generally glabrous; spikelets generally many, 1–2 per node, short-stalked to subsessile, ± on 1 side of axis
Spikelet falling as one unit, ovoid to compressed; glumes unequal, lower < upper, short-bristly to hairy, generally green to purplish, upper glume generally awned; florets 2, lower floret sterile or staminate, lemma generally like glumes, upper floret fertile, lemma leathery or hard, shiny to dull, margin inrolled, tip abruptly pointed, palea free from lemma
Species in genus: ± 35 species: warm temp, subtropical, worldwide
Etymology: (Greek: hedgehog grass, from bristly spikelet)
Reference: [Gould, Ali, & Fairbrothers 1972 Amer Midl Nat 87:36–59]
| Introduced |
Annual
Stem decumbent to erect, 6–18 dm
Leaf: sheath 7–20 cm; blade 12–60 cm, 6–25 mm wide
Inflorescence 10–26 cm; 1° branches 3.5–7 cm; spikelets 1–2 per node, stalk < or = 1 mm
Spikelet ± 3 mm, ± 1.5 mm wide, elliptic, green; lower glume 1–1.5 mm, 3-veined, upper glume ± = spikelet; lower floret ± = upper, sterile or staminate, lemma 5–7-veined, acuminate
Ecology: Disturbed places, fields
Elevation: < 300 m.
Bioregional distribution: Great Central Valley, South Coast, expected elsewhere
Distribution outside California: to e US; native to Eurasia, Africa