Higher Taxonomy
Common Name: GRASS FAMILY
Habit: Annual to woody perennial herb; roots generally fibrous. Stem: generally round, hollow; nodes swollen, solid. Leaf: alternate, 2-ranked, generally linear, parallel-veined; 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; perianth vestigial; stamens generally 3; stigmas generally 2, generally plumose. Fruit: grain, sometimes achene- or utricle-like.
Genera In Family: 650--900 genera; +- 10550 species: worldwide; greatest economic importance of any family (wheat, rice, maize, millet, sorghum, sugar cane, forage crops, ornamental, weeds; thatching, weaving, building materials). Note: Generally wind-pollinated. Achnatherum, Ampelodesmos, Hesperostipa, Nassella, Piptatherum, Piptochaetium, Ptilagrostis moved to Stipa; Elytrigia, Leymus, Pascopyrum, Pseudoroegneria, Taeniatherum to Elymus; Hierochloe to Anthoxanthum; Lolium, Vulpia to Festuca; Lycurus to Muhlenbergia; Monanthochloe to Distichlis; Pleuraphis to Hilaria; Rhynchelytrum to Melinis. The following taxa (in genera not included here), recorded in California from historical collections or reported in literature, are extirpated, lacking vouchers, or not considered naturalized: Acrachne racemosa (Roth) Ohwi, Allolepis texana (Vasey) Soderstr. & H.F. Decker, Amphibromus nervosus (Hook. f.) Baill., Axonopus affinis Chase, Axonopus fissifolius (Raddi) Kuhlm., Coix lacryma-jobi L., Cutandia memphitica (Spreng.) K. Richt., Dinebra retroflexa (Vahl) Panz., Eremochloa ciliaris (L.) Merr., Eustachys distichophylla (Lag.) Nees, Gaudinia fragilis (L.) P. Beauv., Miscanthus sinensis Andersson, Neyraudia arundinacea (L.) Henrard, Phyllostachys aurea Rivière & C. Rivière, Phyllostachys bambusoides Siebold & Zuccarini, Rottboellia cochinchinensis (Lour.) Clayton, Schedonnardus paniculatus (Nutt.) Branner & Coville, Schizachyrium cirratum (Hack.) Wooton & Standl., Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash, Themeda quadrivalvis (L.) Kuntze, Thysanolaena latifolia (Hornem.) Honda, Tribolium obliterum (Hemsl.) Renvoize, Zea mays L., Zizania palustris L. var. interior (Fassett) Dore, Zoysia japonica Steud. Paspalum pubiflorum E. Fourn., Paspalum quadrifarium Lam., are now reported for southern California (J Bot Res Inst Texas 4:761--770). See Glossary p. 30 for illustrations of general family characteristics.
eFlora Treatment Author: James P. Smith, Jr., except as noted
Scientific Editor: James P. Smith, Jr., J. Travis Columbus, Dieter H. Wilken.
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Dactyloctenium
Habit: Annual, perennial herb; tufted, stoloniferous, or rhizomatous Stem: erect or decumbent; 5--115 cm, often rooting at lower nodes. Leaf: ligule membranous; blade flat or inrolled, 4--25 cm, 2--8 mm wide. Inflorescence: terminal, panicle-like, branches 2--11, finger-like, each with 2 rows of overlapping, sessile spikelets along lower side; axis extending beyond spikelets. Spikelet: laterally compressed; glumes unequal, wide, 1-veined, keeled, lower persistent, acute, upper deciduous, short-awned, awn generally curved; axis breaking apart above glumes, florets falling as a unit; bisexual florets 3--7; lemma membranous, keeled, 3-veined, lateral veins generally faint, tip acuminate or short-awned, awn generally curved; palea +- = lemma. Fruit: utricle-like, seed falling free from outer wall. Species In Genus: 10--13 species: Africa, Australia. Etymology: (Greek: finger + a small comb, from spikelet arrangement on branches) Jepson eFlora Author: James P. Smith, Jr. Reference: Hatch 2003 FNANM 25:112--114 Unabridged Reference: Koekemoer in Gibbs Russell et al. 1991 Grasses of Southern Africa pp 99--101Jepson Online Interchange
Previous taxon: Dactylis glomerataNext taxon: Dactyloctenium aegyptium
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Citation for this treatment: James P. Smith, Jr. 2012, Dactyloctenium, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=11030, accessed on November 15, 2019.
Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2019, Jepson eFlora, http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on November 15, 2019.
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