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Melinis repens subsp. repens

NATAL GRASS, RUBY GRASS


Higher Taxonomy
Family: Poaceae (Gramineae)View DescriptionDichotomous Key
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.
Genus: MelinisView Description 


Habit: Annual, perennial herb. Stem: erect to prostrate; internode solid to hollow. Leaf: generally cauline; ligule hairy. Inflorescence: generally panicle-like, open; branches spreading to ascending; spikelets subsessile to stalked. Spikelet: falling as 1 unit; glumes strongly unequal, lower << upper or 0, upper glume silky-hairy; florets 2, lower floret sterile or staminate, lemma +- = upper glume, upper floret fertile, lemma membranous to thick, firm, smooth, +- white in fruit, margin flat, tip blunt, palea +- = lemma.
Etymology: (Greek: a cereal, probably millet)
eFlora Treatment Author: James P. Smith, Jr.
Reference: Wipff 2007 FNANM 25:490--492; Zizka 1990 Mitt Inst Allg Bot Hamburg 23:563--572
Melinis repens (Willd.) Zizka subsp. repens
NATURALIZED
Habit: Annual or short-lived perennial herb. Stem: decumbent to erect, (2)4--15 dm; internodes glabrous or with swollen-based hairs; sheath 3--9 cm, glabrous; ligule hairs 0.5--1.5 mm; blade 3--27 cm, generally 2--9 mm wide, upper surface glabrous. Inflorescence: (4)6--22 cm; 1° branches 2.5--6(11) cm, glabrous to puberulent; spikelet stalk 0.5--5 mm, +- wiry, hairy. Spikelet: 2--5.5 mm, +- 1--2 mm wide, ovate to elliptic; lower glume < 1.5 mm, 0--1-veined, upper glume 2--5 mm, densely silky-hairy, hairs <= 7 mm, rose to +- purple fading to pink or white in age; lower floret staminate or sterile, lemma +- like upper glume, 5-veined, tip minutely lobed, palea +- = lemma; upper floret +- 2/3 length lower floret, lemma firm, +- white, shiny; anthers 3. Chromosomes: 2n=36.
Ecology: Disturbed areas, slopes; Elevation: < 850 m. Bioregional Distribution: NCoRO, SnJV, s CCo, SCoRO, SCo, WTR, PR; Distribution Outside California: to southern United States; native to South Africa, western Asia. Flowering Time: All year Note: Used for soil stabilization.
Synonyms: Rhynchelytrum repens (Willd.) C.E. Hubb.; Rhynchelytrum roseum (Nees) Stapf & C.E. Hubb.; Tricholaena rosea Nees
Jepson eFlora Author: James P. Smith, Jr.
Reference: Wipff 2007 FNANM 25:490--492; Zizka 1990 Mitt Inst Allg Bot Hamburg 23:563--572
Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange)

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Citation for this treatment: James P. Smith, Jr. 2012, Melinis repens subsp. repens, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=91775, 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.

No expert verified images found for Melinis repens subsp. repens.



Geographic subdivisions for Melinis repens subsp. repens:
NCoRO, SnJV, s CCo, SCoRO, SCo, WTR, PR
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map of distribution 1

(Note: any qualifiers in the taxon distribution description, such as 'northern', 'southern', 'adjacent' etc., are not reflected in the map above, and in some cases indication of a taxon in a subdivision is based on a single collection or author-verified occurrence).






 

Data provided by the participants of the  Consortium of California Herbaria.

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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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CCH collections by month Flowering-Fruiting Monthly Counts

Duplicates counted once; synonyms included.
Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa, if there are more than 1 infraspecific taxon in CA.
Blue line denotes eFlora flowering time (fruiting time in some monocot genera).