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: THREE-AWN Habit: Annual, perennial herb, cespitose. Stem: ascending to erect, generally glabrous (except Aristida californica). Leaf: basal and cauline; basal often tufted; ligule hairy; blade flat or inrolled. Inflorescence: raceme-like or panicle-like; branches spike-like. Spikelet: glumes narrowly lanceolate, thin, 1-veined, awn generally 0; floret 1, breaking above glumes; lemma +- fusiform, hard when mature, 3-veined, tip beak-like or not, awned at tip, awns 3, equal or unequal; palea < lemma, enclosed by lemma, transparent. Fruit: narrowly fusiform. Etymology: (Latin: awn) Note: Some species noxious weeds. eFlora Treatment Author: Rosa Cerros-Tlatilpa & Kelly W. Allred Reference: Allred 2007 FNANM 25:315--342 Unabridged Reference: Allred 1992 Great Basin Naturalist 52:41--52
Aristida californica Thurb.
NATIVE Habit: Perennial herb, +- bushy. Stem: much-branched, generally 1--4 dm, densely hairy. Leaf: sheath << internodes; blade < 6 cm, generally inrolled. Inflorescence: 5--10 cm. Spikelet: lower glume 4--10 mm, upper 7--15 mm; lemma 5--7 mm, narrow beak at tip 4--26 mm, awns 20--50 mm, beak and awns breaking from lemma. Fruit: +- 10 mm. Chromosomes: 2n=22. Ecology: Dry sandy sites, dunes, shrubland; Elevation: < 700 m. Bioregional Distribution: D; Distribution Outside California: Arizona, Texas, northwestern Mexico. Flowering Time: Feb--Nov Jepson eFlora Author: Rosa Cerros-Tlatilpa & Kelly W. Allred Reference: Allred 2007 FNANM 25:315--342 Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Previous taxon: Aristida adscensionis Next taxon: Aristida dichotoma
Citation for this treatment: Rosa Cerros-Tlatilpa & Kelly W. Allred 2012, Aristida californica, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=14173, accessed on December 03, 2024.
Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on December 03, 2024.
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Duplicates counted once; synonyms included.
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