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.
Common Name: CORD GRASS Habit: Perennial herb, generally with rhizomes. Stem: erect, unbranched. Leaf: 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. Fruit: achene-like, seed free from thin ovary wall. Etymology: (Greek: a cord) Note:Spartina anglica C.E. Hubb introduced to SnFrB (Creekside Park, Marin Co.). eFlora Treatment Author: John R. Baird & John W. Thieret Reference: Ayres et al. 2003 Madroño 50:209--213 Unabridged Reference: Spicher & Josselyn 1985 Madroño 32:158--167
Spartina gracilis Trin.
NATIVE Habit: Rhizome 3--5 mm wide, elongate, slender. Stem: generally 1, 1.8--10 dm, base 2--5 mm wide, slender, internodes firm. Leaf: blade 15--27 cm, base 2.5--6 mm wide, 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, lemma keels ciliate at least near tip, hairs generally 0.3--1 mm; lower glume 3--7 mm; upper glume 5--11 mm; lemma 6.5--10 mm. Chromosomes: 2n=40,42. Ecology: Alkaline lake shores, streambanks, meadows, marshes; Elevation: 1000--2100 m. Bioregional Distribution: SNE, n DMoj; Distribution Outside California: to northern and eastern Canada, Kansas, New Mexico. Flowering Time: Jun--Aug Jepson eFlora Author: John R. Baird & John W. Thieret Reference: Ayres et al. 2003 Madroño 50:209--213 Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Listed on CNPS Rare Plant Inventory Previous taxon: Spartina foliosa Next taxon: Spartina patens
Botanical illustration including Spartina gracilis
Citation for this treatment: John R. Baird & John W. Thieret 2012, Spartina gracilis, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=45045, accessed on April 18, 2024.
Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on April 18, 2024.
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(Note: any qualifiers in the taxon distribution description, such as 'northern', 'southern', 'adjacent' etc., are not reflected in the map above, and in some cases indication of a taxon in a subdivision is based on a single collection or author-verified occurence).
Data provided by the participants of the
Consortium of California Herbaria.
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Blue markers indicate specimens that map to one of the expected Jepson geographic subdivisions (see left map). Purple markers indicate specimens collected from a garden, greenhouse, or other non-wild location.
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CCH collections by month
Duplicates counted once; synonyms included.
Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa, if there are more than 1 infraspecific taxon in CA.
Blue line denotes eFlora flowering time (fruiting time in some monocot genera).
