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: BROME, CHESS
Habit: Annual to perennial herb. Leaf: basal and cauline; sheath closed to near top, hairy or glabrous; ligule <= 7 mm, membranous, entire to fringed; blade flat to inrolled. Inflorescence: generally raceme- or panicle-like, open to dense; pedicels generally stiff, rigid. Spikelet: strongly laterally compressed to cylindric; florets 3--30; axis breaking above glumes and between florets; glumes unequal, generally < lower floret, lower 1--3-veined, upper 3--7-veined, back rounded to strongly keeled, tip acute; lemma 5--9-veined, tip 2-toothed or entire, acute to obtuse, awned from between teeth or awns 0; palea generally < lemma.
Etymology: (Greek: ancient name) Note: Bromus scoparius L., Bromus erectus Huds. not known to be naturalized in California. Bromus pacificus Shear not in California.
Unabridged Note: Report in FNANM of Bromus pacificus Shear (in HSC) based on misidentification.
eFlora Treatment Author: Jeffery M. Saarela & Paul M. Peterson
Reference: Brainerd et al. 2016 Phytoneuron 2016-36:1--4; Fortune et al. 2008 Amer J Bot 95:454--464; Pavlick and Anderton 2007 FNANM 24:193--237; Saarela et al. 2007 Aliso 23:450--467; Saarela et al. 2014 Phytotaxa 185:1--147.

Habit: Annual or short-lived perennial herb, 20--120 cm. Leaf: glabrous or hairy. Inflorescence: 8--30 cm, +- open. Spikelet: 15--30 mm, strongly flattened. Chromosomes: 2n=42.