| 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, 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.
| Introduced |
Perennial, cespitose or not
Stem 6–30 dm
Leaf: sheath 4–10 cm, glabrous or hairy; ligule 1–2 mm; blade 10–50 cm, 3–15 mm wide, upper surface glabrous
Inflorescence 9–40 cm; 1° branches 5–10 mm, axis glabrous; bristles 5–15; spikelet stalk < 0.5 mm
Spikelet ± 2–3 mm, 1–1.5 mm wide; lower glume ± 1–1.5 mm, 2-veined, tip acute, upper glume 0.6–0.8 X spikelet length; lower floret staminate, lemma 5-veined, tip acute, palea = lemma
Chromosomes: 2n=18,36
Ecology: Disturbed places, fields
Elevation: < 200 m.
Bioregional distribution: Great Central Valley
Distribution outside California: native to Africa