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.
Habit: Annual, perennial herb. Stem: erect. Leaf: basal to cauline; ligule membranous, glabrous to minutely ciliate, toothed at obtuse to truncate tip; blade narrow, flat to inrolled. Inflorescence: panicle-like, generally compact, narrow, or wider in full flower. Spikelet: laterally compressed; glumes unequal, upper > and wider than lower, keeled, acute, lower 1-veined, upper faintly 3--5-veined; axis prolonged beyond fertile floret, bristly (occasionally with vestigial floret at tip); florets 2--5, bisexual, breaking above glumes and between florets; lower lemmas generally > glumes, awned or not, 5-veined; palea +- < lemma, tip minutely 2-forked. Etymology: (G.L. Koeler, German botanist, 1765--1807) eFlora Treatment Author: Dieter H. Wilken Reference: Standley 2007 FNANM 24:753--756 Unabridged Reference: Arnow 1994 Syst Bot 19:6--20; Shinners 1956 Rhodora 58:93--96
Koeleria macrantha (Ledeb.) Schult.
NATIVE Habit: Cespitose. Stem: 2--8(10+) dm, glabrous to puberulent. Leaf: generally basal, tufted, glabrous to puberulent; ligule 1--2 mm; blade 2--20 cm, 1--2(3) mm wide, generally ridged. Inflorescence: 2--15 cm, 1--2 cm wide, cylindric to narrowly conic, or wider in full flower, interrupted at base. Spikelet: 4--6 mm, +- shiny, tan (occasionally +- purple); florets 2--4; lower glume +- 3 mm, upper +- 5 mm; lemma 3--5 mm, acute to small-pointed at tip. Chromosomes: 2n=14. Ecology: Dry, open sites, clay to rocky soils, shrubland, woodland, conifer forest; Elevation: < 3840 m. Bioregional Distribution: NW, CaR, SN, ScV (Sutter Buttes), CW, TR, PR, GB, DMtns; Distribution Outside California: to Alaska, eastern Canada, central and eastern United States, northern Mexico, Eurasia. Flowering Time: May--Jul Synonyms: Koeleria cristata Pers., superfl., in part; Koeleria cristata var. longifolia Burtt Davy; Koeleria gracilis Pers., illeg.; Koeleria nitida Nutt.; Koeleria pyramidata (Lam.) P. Beauv., misappl. Jepson eFlora Author: Dieter H. Wilken Reference: Standley 2007 FNANM 24:753--756 Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Previous taxon: Koeleria gerardi Next taxon: Lagurus
Botanical illustration including Koeleria macrantha
Citation for this treatment: Dieter H. Wilken 2012, Koeleria macrantha, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=29951, 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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