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: QUAKING GRASS Habit: Annual, perennial herb. Stem: ascending to erect, 5--100 cm. Leaf: basal to cauline; ligule membranous to translucent; blade flat. Inflorescence: erect to pendent, panicle-like, open. Spikelet: +- pendent, +- laterally compressed, subconic to ovoid; glumes subequal, papery, rounded at tip, 3--9-veined; florets 3--19; axis breaking above glumes and between florets; lemma width > length, papery to translucent, rounded at tip, 7--9-veined; palea +- = lemma. Etymology: (Greek: a kind of grain) Note:Briza media L., a cultivated perennial herb with ligule < 0.5 mm and spikelets 4--6 mm, best treated as waif in California. eFlora Treatment Author: Dieter H. Wilken Reference: Snow 2007 FNANM 24:612--614
Briza minor L.
NATURALIZED Habit: Annual. Stem: 8--50 cm. Leaf: ligule 3--13 mm, blade 3--10 mm wide. Inflorescence: erect, 3--20 cm. Spikelet: generally > 15 per inflorescence, triangular to oval, truncate at base; glumes 1.5--4 mm, 3--5-veined; florets 4--6(13); lemmas 1--2 mm, veins indistinct. Chromosomes: 2n=10,14. Ecology: Shaded or moist, open sites; Elevation: 20--600 m. Bioregional Distribution: NW, CaRF, SN, GV, CW (exc SCoRI), SCo, WTR, PR, DSon (Rancho Mirage); Distribution Outside California: to British Columbia, eastern United States; native to southern and western Europe. Flowering Time: Apr--Jul Jepson eFlora Author: Dieter H. Wilken Reference: Snow 2007 FNANM 24:612--614 Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Previous taxon: Briza maxima Next taxon: Bromus
Citation for this treatment: Dieter H. Wilken 2012, Briza minor, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=16137, accessed on October 04, 2024.
Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on October 04, 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 occurrence).
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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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Duplicates counted once; synonyms included.
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