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: RICE Habit: Annual, perennial herb. Stem: generally 1, erect. Leaf: cauline; ligule membranous; blade flat to folded. Inflorescence: panicle-like. Spikelet: laterally compressed; glumes 2, reduced to 2-lobed cup at pedicel tip; florets 3, lower 2 reduced to glume-like sterile lemmas, uppermost bisexual; fertile lemma keeled, glabrous or stiff-hairy, tip short-beaked, awned or not; palea keeled, beaked, = lemma; stamens 6. Etymology: (Greek: rice) Note: There are historical collections of red rice, Oryza rufipogon Griff. , from GV, but no evidence of its being naturalized. eFlora Treatment Author: Dieter H. Wilken Unabridged Reference: Barkworth & Terrell 2007 FNANM 24:37--41
Oryza sativa L.
NATURALIZED Habit: Annual (perennial herb). Stem: 4--15(20) dm. Leaf: sheath generally glabrous; ligule 4--10 mm, acute; blade 15--35 cm, 3--11 mm wide, glabrous to minutely scabrous. Inflorescence: 10--50 cm; branches capillary, drooping. Spikelet: elliptic, 6--11 mm, 2--4 mm wide; glumes vestigial; sterile lemmas 1.5--3(10) mm, awns 0; fertile lemma 6--11 mm, 2--3 mm wide, 3-veined; fertile palea 1--2 mm wide. Chromosomes: 2n=24. Ecology: Wet sites; Elevation: < 100 m. Bioregional Distribution: GV; Distribution Outside California: Texas to southeastern United States, Mediterranean; native to southeastern Asia. Flowering Time: Sep--Nov Note: Perhaps our most important food pl, it is also used to feed cattle, as a starch source, and is fermented to make beer and sake. Unabridged Note: Historical waif in Santa Barbara Co., collected once in 1962, and Imperial Co., collected once in 1954. Jepson eFlora Author: Dieter H. Wilken Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Previous taxon: Oryza Next taxon: Panicum
Citation for this treatment: Dieter H. Wilken 2012, Oryza sativa, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=35533, accessed on February 06, 2025.
Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2025, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on February 06, 2025.
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Duplicates counted once; synonyms included.
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