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: BLUE GRASS Habit: Annual, perennial herb; some +- dioecious. Stem: 0.3--12 dm. Leaf: sheath open most of length to closed (best observed on upper stem leaf); ligule thin, flexible, without a rim of hairs; blade grooved above on both sides of midvein, flat, folded, or inrolled, generally smooth or scabrous on veins, generally prow-tipped. Inflorescence: panicle-like; branches appressed to drooping. Spikelet: generally compressed, breaking between florets; glumes 2, +- equal, generally < lowest lemma, awnless; florets generally 2--6; callus indistinct, often with obvious tuft of long cobwebby hairs; lemma generally keeled to base, like glumes, awnless, veins generally 5, hairy or glabrous, upper margins thin-membranous; palea well developed, keel generally scabrous. Flower: generally bisexual, sometimes pistillate and/or staminate; fertile anthers 0.2--4.5 mm; ovary glabrous; fruit firm. Etymology: (Greek: ancient name applied to various grasses, fodder plants) Note: California is center of diversity in North America. Spikelet data recorded from lowest florets of spikelet at 25 ×. eFlora Treatment Author: Robert J. Soreng Reference: Soreng 2007 FNANM 24:486--601 Unabridged Reference: Gillespie & Soreng 2005 Syst Bot 30:84--105; Soreng 1998 Novon 8:187--202; Soreng 1991 Syst Bot 16:507--528; Soreng 1991 Phytologia 71:340--413
Common Name: NEVADA BLUE GRASS Habit: Perennial herb, densely cespitose. Leaf: sheath open 3/4 length to near base; ligule 0.5--10 mm, truncate to acuminate, sometimes scabrous; blade generally 0.5--3 mm wide, soft to firm, flat to folded or inrolled. Inflorescence: 2--25 cm, often +- 1-sided, generally linear to lanceolate, generally dense; branches generally appressed to ascending (generally spreading only in flower), +- scabrous. Spikelet: +- cylindric or little compressed; upper internodes generally > 1.2 mm; callus glabrous or with a ring of short hairs; lemma 3.5--6 mm, weakly keeled to rounded across lower back, glabrous to +- evenly short-hairy across body (rarely soft-hairy only on veins), smooth to scabrous. Flower: anthers 1.5--3 mm. Chromosomes: 2n=42--106 (mostly high polyploids). Note: Many ecological forms; subspecies tend to intergrade.
Poa secunda J. Presl subsp. juncifolia (Scribn.) Soreng
NATIVE Habit: Plant 3--12 dm. Leaf: ligule 0.5--6 mm, generally truncate to acuminate, scabrous (those on lateral shoots 0.5--2 mm); blade generally < 1.5 mm wide, +- firm, tightly folded and inrolled, retaining shape, often glaucous. Inflorescence: generally 6--25 cm. Spikelet: lemma 3.5--6 mm, glabrous (rarely sparsely short-hairy on keel, marginal veins near base); palea keels scabrous. Chromosomes: 2n=+-63. Ecology: Sagebrush scrub to lower montane forest, often in alkaline depressions; Elevation: 900--3000 m. Bioregional Distribution: NW, CaRH, SNH (esp e slope), GB; Distribution Outside California: to southern Canada, North Dakota, New Mexico. Flowering Time: Apr--Jul Note:Poa ×limosa Scribn. & T.A. Williams (Lassen Co. blue grass) is a set of hybrids between Poa secunda subsp. juncifolia and Poa pratensis; 2n=63--64; low ground, often saline meadows; 800--2000 m; range of Poa secunda subsp. juncifolia. Synonyms: Poa ×limosa Scribn. & T. A. Williams Unabridged Note: Several important ecotypes: 1: Poa ampla Merr. (big blue grass: plant 6--12 dm; leaf blade flat, generally glaucous; non-alkaline uplands); 2: Poa juncifolia Scribn. (alkali blue grass: ligule truncate, often alkaline); 3: Poa nevadensis Scribn. (Nevada blue grass: ligule long, acute; often alkaline also desert uplands). Poa pratensis × Poa secunda [Poa fibrata Swallen]. Jepson eFlora Author: Robert J. Soreng Reference: Soreng 2007 FNANM 24:486--601 Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Previous taxon: Poa secunda Next taxon: Poa secunda subsp. secunda
Citation for this treatment: Robert J. Soreng 2012, Poa secunda subsp. juncifolia, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=52388, 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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