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: VELDT GRASS Habit: Annual, perennial herb. Stem: generally erect, 6--200 cm. Leaf: auricle generally ciliate; ligule generally membranous, truncate, irregularly torn; blade flat, linear to lanceolate. Inflorescence: raceme- or panicle-like; branches spreading to erect; spikelets sessile to stalked. Spikelet: 2--17 mm, cylindric or laterally compressed; glumes +- equal to unequal, < to > florets, generally ovate; axis breaking above glumes, falling as 1 unit; florets 3, lower 2 sterile; sterile lemma glabrous or pubescent, firmer than glumes, awned or not, lower generally auricled; palea 0; upper floret bisexual, lemma membranous, becoming hard at maturity, 5--7-veined, awn 0; palea 1--2(5)-veined; stamens 3 or 6 (in California). Etymology: (J.F. Ehrhart, German botanist, student of Linnaeus, 1742--1795) eFlora Treatment Author: James P. Smith, Jr. Reference: Barkworth 2007 FNANM 24:33--36 Unabridged Reference: Gibbs Russell & Ellis 1987 Bothalia 17:51--65
Ehrharta erecta Lam.
NATURALIZED Habit: Perennial herb. Stem: 4--10 dm, erect or ascending, sometimes rooting from lower nodes. Leaf: sheath striate, glabrous or hairy; ligule to 3 mm; blade 5--15 cm, 4--15 mm wide, flat, generally glabrous, margins often wavy. Inflorescence: panicle-like, 6--20 cm, generally open, erect or nodding; spikelets sessile to subsessile, stalk generally < 1 mm, stiff. Spikelet: 3--6 mm; glumes 1.5--4 mm, +- equal, > sterile florets, 3--5-veined, +- green at maturity; sterile lemma 2.5--4.5 mm, +- glabrous, awn 0, lower generally auricled, upper transversely wrinkled; fertile lemma 2.5--3.5 mm, glabrous, faintly 5--7-veined, tip obtuse, awn 0; palea 2-veined; stamens 6 Chromosomes: 2n=24. Ecology: Disturbed, often shady, moist sites; Elevation: generally < 915 m. Bioregional Distribution: NCo (Humboldt Co.), CCo, e SnFrB (aggressive), SCoRO, SCo, WTR, D; Distribution Outside California: only occurrences in North America; native to southern Africa. Flowering Time: Mar--Jun Jepson eFlora Author: James P. Smith, Jr. Reference: Barkworth 2007 FNANM 24:33--36 Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) View the CDFA Pest Rating page for Ehrharta erecta Weed listed by Cal-IPC Previous taxon: Ehrharta calycina Next taxon: Ehrharta longiflora
Citation for this treatment: James P. Smith, Jr. 2012, Ehrharta erecta, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=23854, accessed on April 23, 2024.
Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on April 23, 2024.
Geographic subdivisions for Ehrharta erecta:
NCo (Humboldt Co.), CCo, e SnFrB (aggressive), SCoRO, SCo, WTR, D
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(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 occurence).
Data provided by the participants of the
Consortium of California Herbaria.
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Duplicates counted once; synonyms included.
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