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: PANIC GRASS Habit: Annual, perennial herb. Stem: generally erect or ascending; internode solid to hollow. Leaf: basal and cauline, similar or dissimilar, basal rosette well developed or not; blade generally flat or rolled under; sheath glabrous or hairy; ligule short-hairy or membranous, ciliate, hairs generally > membrane, with an adjacent false ligule of longer hairs in some species Inflorescence: panicle-like, generally open; 1° branches spreading to ascending; 2° main branches simple or forked at base; spikelets many, 1--2 per node, generally stalked, on one side of axis or not, stalk tip expanded, one side concave. Spikelet: falling as 1 unit, +- compressed, generally green to +- purple; glumes generally unequal, lower generally < upper, free, clasping, upper glume +- = spikelet, membranous, +- thin; florets 2, lower sterile or staminate, lemma texture like glumes, upper floret fertile, lemma leathery to hard, firm, generally shiny, smooth to rough, margin inrolled or partly flat, tip blunt, palea +- enclosed by lemma margin. Etymology: (Latin: ancient name for millet) Note: Subg. Dichanthelium often recognized as distinct, monophyletic genus, as in FNANM by Freckmann; based on editorial decision, Panicum treated here to include Dichanthelium, which is phylogenetically nested in Panicum. eFlora Treatment Author: Robert W. Freckmann & Robert Webster Reference: Freckmann & Lelong 2003 FNANM 25:406--450, 450--488
Panicum capillare L.
NATIVE Habit: Annual. Stem: 2--10 dm. Leaf: sheath 4--8 cm, short-hairy; ligule membrane 0.5--1.5 mm, ciliate; blade 5--30 cm, 5--20 mm wide, upper surface short-soft- to rough-hairy. Inflorescence: 15--40 cm, open; 1° branches 12--30 cm, axis sparsely short-hairy; spikelet 1 per node; stalk 2--6 mm. Spikelet: 2--3.5 mm, +- 1 mm wide, lanceolate to elliptic; lower glume +- 1--1.5 mm, 3-veined, acute; lower floret sterile, lemma 7-veined, tapered to a tail-like tip, palea generally 0; upper floret +- 0.8 × lower floret. Chromosomes: 2n=18. Ecology: Open places, fields, roadsides; Elevation: < 1500 m. Bioregional Distribution: CA; Distribution Outside California: to Canada, eastern United States. Flowering Time: Feb--Dec Jepson eFlora Author: Robert W. Freckmann & Robert Webster Reference: Freckmann & Lelong 2003 FNANM 25:406--450, 450--488 Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Previous taxon: Panicum antidotale Next taxon: Panicum dichotomiflorum subsp. dichotomiflorum
Botanical illustration including Panicum capillare
Citation for this treatment: Robert W. Freckmann & Robert Webster 2012, Panicum capillare, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=36094, accessed on December 02, 2024.
Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on December 02, 2024.
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