| 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.
Perennial, cespitose or from rhizomes, glabrous to velvety soft-hairy
Leaves generally basal; ligule membranous, truncate, puberulent; blade flat
Inflorescence panicle-like, ± congested
Spikelets laterally compressed, breaking below glumes, falling as 1 unit; glumes ± subequal, lower 1-veined, upper 3-veined; florets generally 2, lower floret bisexual, upper staminate or sterile; callus hairy; lemmas ± 2 mm, shiny, membranous, faintly 3–5-veined, lemma of lower floret awnless, lemma of upper floret awned near 2-lobed tip; palea ± = lemma
Species in genus: ± 8 species: temp Eurasia, Africa
Etymology: (Latin: a grass)
| Introduced |
Stems clumped, ascending to erect, 6–20 dm; nodes and internodes soft-hairy
Leaf: ligule 1–3 mm; blade 5–18 cm, 4–9 mm wide
Inflorescence 7–15 cm
Spikelet: glumes 3–6 mm, purplish, short-hairy on back, keel long-hairy; lemmas 3–4 mm, awn twisted to recurved, ± 1 mm
Chromosomes: 2n=14
Ecology: Moist sites, roadbanks, cultivated fields, meadows
Elevation: 100–2300 m.
Bioregional distribution: California Floristic Province, Great Basin Floristic Province, Mojave Desert
Distribution outside California: to Alaska, Canada, widespread US, S.America; native to Europe
Cult for forage, hay.