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: DROPSEED, SACATON Habit: Annual, perennial herb. Stem: generally ascending to erect, 2--20 dm, generally tufted, +- solid in ×-section. Leaf: generally basal; cauline few, ascending or curving away; distal sheath margin and collar glabrous or hairy; ligule < 1 mm, hairy or membranous, fringed; blade flat to inrolled, generally glabrous or scabrous, occasionally short-soft-hairy. Inflorescence: terminal, also occasionally axillary, panicle- or spike-like, generally partly enclosed by sheath; branches spreading or appressed. Spikelet: < 6 mm, generally pale to gray-green or +- purple; glumes generally unequal, upper < or > lemma, membranous to translucent, 1-veined; floret bisexual, generally breaking above glumes; lemma texture generally like glumes, 1(3)-veined; palea < or > lemma. Fruit: utricle-like, when wet gelatinous with seed emergent from split ovary wall. Etymology: (Greek: to throw seed, from deciduous seeds) eFlora Treatment Author: Michael Curto Reference: Peterson et al. 2003 FNANM 25:115--139 Unabridged Reference: Baaijens & Veldkamp 1991 Blumea 35: 393--458; Colbry 1957 Cont US Natl Mus 34:1--24; Veldkamp 1990 Taxon 39:327--328
Sporobolus flexuosus (Thurb. ex Vasey) Rydb.
NATIVE Habit: Perennial herb. Stem: tufted, erect or decumbent, 3--10(12) dm. Leaf: base dull, green to brown, margin glabrous or ciliate, collar with conspicuous hairs to 4 mm; ligule < 0.5--1 mm, fringe hairs to 4 mm; blade 5--25 cm, 1--6 mm wide. Inflorescence: generally terminal, exserted or base sheathed, generally ovate at maturity, open; central axis nodding, 1° branches generally spreading widely, lowest generally > 3 cm, > internodes, 2°, 3° spreading, entangled, base naked, evident. Spikelet: 1.5--2.5 mm, green to purple or lead-colored; glumes lanceolate, tip acute, unequal, lower 0.9--1.5 mm, upper 1.5--2.5, > 0.6 × lemma; lemma 1.5--2.5 mm, glabrous, ovate to lanceolate, tip acute; anthers 0.2--0.7 mm. Fruit: 0.6--1 mm, ellipsoid, striate, light- to red-brown. Chromosomes: 2n=36,38. Ecology: Rocky to sandy washes, slopes, scrub, woodland; Elevation: 100--2100 m. Bioregional Distribution: SNE, D; Distribution Outside California: to Nevada, Colorado, Oklahoma, western Texas, northern Mexico. Flowering Time: May--Oct Unabridged Note: Reports of Sporobolus floridanus Chapm. in California based on erroneously annotated Sporobolus flexuosus from Death Valley. Jepson eFlora Author: Michael Curto Reference: Peterson et al. 2003 FNANM 25:115--139 Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Previous taxon: Sporobolus cryptandrus Next taxon: Sporobolus indicus
Citation for this treatment: Michael Curto 2012, Sporobolus flexuosus, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=45304, 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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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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