Description
Family Poaceae
Annual
or perennial
herbs, or tall woody bamboos
. Flowering stems (culms
) jointed
, internodes hollow or solid; branches arising singly from nodes and subtended by a leaf sheath
and 2-keeled prophyll, often fascicled in bamboos. Leaves arranged alternately in 2 ranks
, differentiated into sheath, blade
, and an adaxial
erect
appendage
at sheath/blade junction (ligule) ; leaf sheath surrounding and supporting culm-internode, split to base
or infrequently tubular
with partially or completely fused margins
, modified with reduced blade in bamboos (culm sheaths) ; leaf blades divergent, usually long, narrow and flat, but varying from inrolled
and filiform
to ovate
, veins parallel, sometimes with cross-connecting veinlets
(especially in bamboos) ; ligule membranous or a line
of hairs
. Inflorescence terminal
or axillary
, an open, contracted
, or spikelike panicle, or composed of lax
to spikelike racemes
arranged along an elongate
central axis, or digitate, paired
, or occasionally solitary; axillary inflorescences often many, subtended by spatheoles
(specialized bladeless leaf sheaths) and gathered into a leafy compound
panicle; spikelets
often aggregated into complex
clusters
in bamboos. Spikelets composed of distichous bracts arranged along a slender axis (rachilla) ; typically 2 lowest bracts (glumes
) empty, subtending
1 to many florets
; glumes often poorly differentiated from accompanying bracts in bamboos. Florets composed of 2 opposing bracts enclosing a single small flower, outer bract (lemma) clasping
the more delicate, usually 2-keeled inner bract (palea) ; base of floret often with thickened prolongation articulated with rachilla (callus) ; lemma often with apical or dorsal bristle
(awn
), glumes also sometimes awned
. Flowers bisexual
or unisexual
; lodicules (small scales
representing perianth) 2, rarely 3 or absent, 3 to many in bamboos, hyaline
or fleshy
; stamens 3 rarely 1, 2, 6, or more in some bamboos, hypogynous, filaments
capillary
, anthers
versatile; ovary 1-celled, styles (1 or) 2(rarely 3), free
or united
at base, topped by feathery stigmas, exserted from sides or apex of floret. Fruit normally a dry indehiscent caryopsis with thin pericarp firmly adherent
to seed, pericarp rarely free, fleshy in some bamboos; embryo small or large; hilum
punctate
to linear
.
About 700 genera and 11,000 species: widely distributed in all regions of the world.[1]
Genus Agrostis
Annuals
or perennials
, tufted
or sometimes with rhizomes or stolons. Leaf blades
linear
to filiform
or setaceous
, flat or rolled; ligule membranous. Inflorescence a panicle, open to contracted
or spikelike. Spikelets
with 1 floret, small, often gaping
, without rachilla extension
; rachilla disarticulating above glumes
; glumes persistent
, longer
than floret, subequal
or lower a little longer, membranous, 1-veined, apex subacute
to acuminate; floret callus glabrous
or shortly pilose
; lemma oblong
to elliptic
, thinner than glumes, often hyaline
, 5-veined, rounded
on back, glabrous or hairy
, lateral
veins sometimes excurrent, awnless or awned
from back, apex truncate
or toothed
; awn
usually geniculate
, sometimes weakly so or straight when short; palea shorter than lemma, sometimes very small. Stamens 3. Caryopsis oblong, sulcate
on ventral side.
About 200 species:temperate and cold regions of the N hemisphere, also on tropical
mountains; 25 species (eight endemic) in China.
The genus includes some good fodder
and lawn plants
.
Some species are superficially very similar, and correct identification depends on careful observation of spikelet details. It is also important to collect the basal parts to show the presence or absence of rhizomes and stolons. When the palea is long it is normally obvious, but small paleas usually adhere to the mature
caryopsis and may appear to be absent. The presence or absence of awns is useful for identification, but awned species may have awnless variants
, and vice versa, and the position of the awn on the lemma back can also be rather variable.[2]
Habitat
Ecology: The type specimen was collected on Glen Beach
, stream
banks beside a hut
, 20 ft
above sea level.
List of Habitats
:18Unknown
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
)
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
)
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Magnoliophyta
(
)
- Sinnott, 1935 Ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Flowering Plants
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
)
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
)
- Kenrick & Crane, 1997
- Class:
Liliopsida
(
)
- Scopoli, 1760
- Subclass:
Commelinidae
(
)
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Superorder:
Poanae
(
)
- (Small, 1903) Takhtajan, 1997 Ex Reveal & Doweld, 1999
- Superorder:
Poanae
(
- Subclass:
Commelinidae
(
- Class:
Liliopsida
(
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Magnoliophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Notes
Publishing author : C.E.Hubb. Publication : in Bull . Brit . Mus. (Nat. Hist.), Bot., 8(4): 379 (1981) 1981
Similar Species
Members of the genus Agrostis
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 1066 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:
A. abakanensis · A. aberrans · A. abietorum · A. abnormis · A. abyssinica · A. actinoclada · A. aculeata · A. acutiflora · A. acutiglumis · A. adamsonii · A. adscendens · A. aemula · A. aemula var. aemula · A. aemula var. setifolia · A. aenea · A. aequalis · A. aequata · A. aequivalvis (Northern Bent Grass) · A. affinis · A. africana · A. agrostidiformis · A. agrostiflora · A. airaeformis · A. airiformis · A. airoides · A. airoides var. flaccidifolia · A. alascana (Alaska Bentgrass) · A. alaskana · A. alaskana var. breviflora · A. alba · A. alba scabrida · A. alba stolonifera · A. alba var. alba · A. alba var. aristata · A. alba var. decumbens · A. alba var. densiflora · A. alba var. dispar · A. alba var. major · A. alba var. stricta · A. alba var. sylvatica · A. alba var. vulgaris · A. albicans · A. albida · A. albimontana · A. algida · A. alopecuroides · A. alpestris · A. alpicola · A. alpina · A. alpina subsp. minor · A. altissima · A. altissima var. laxa · A. amaicensis · A. ambatoensis · A. ambigua · A. amomala · A. ampla · A. amplax · A. anadyrensis · A. anatolica · A. andicola · A. andina · A. anemagrostis · A. anemagrostoides · A. angrenica · A. angusthum · A. anomala · A. antarctica · A. antartica · A. antoniana · A. apetala · A. aphanes · A. aquatica · A. arachnoidea · A. arachnoides · A. araucana · A. arcta · A. arenaria · A. arenosa · A. argentea · A. arisan-montana · A. aristata · A. aristiglumis · A. aristulata · A. aristulifera · A. arrecta · A. articulata · A. arundinacea · A. arvensis · A. ascendens · A. aspera · A. asperifolia · A. asperigluma · A. asperula · A. atlantica · A. atrata · A. atropurpurea · A. atroviolacea · A. atrovirens · A. attenuata
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- Groves, E.W. 1981: Vascular plant collections from the Tristan da Cunha group of islands. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Botany series 8(4): 333-420.
- Roux, J. P., Ryan, P. G., Milton, S. J. and Moloney C. L. 1992: Vegetation and checklist of Inaccessible Island, central South Atlantic Ocean, with notes on Nightingale Island. Bothalia 22 (1): 93-109.
- Chen Shouliang, Jin Yuexing, Zhuang Tide, Fang Wenzhe, Sheng Guoying, Liu Liang, Wu Zhenlan, Lu Shenglian, Sun Bisin, Hu Zhihao, Wang Song, Sun Xiangzhong, Wang Huiqin, Yang Xilin, Wang Chaopin, Li Binggui & Wen Shaobin. 1990. Gramineae (Poaceae) (4). In: Chen Shouliang, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 10(1):1401
- Chen Shouliang, Zhuang Tide, Fang Wenzhe, Sheng Guoying, Jin Yuexing, Liu Liang, Sun Bisin, Hu Zhihao & Wang Song. 1997. Gramineae (Poaceae) (5). In: Chen Shouliang, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 10(2): 1301
- Liu Liang, Zhu Taiping, Chen Wenli, Wu Zhenlan & Lu Shenglian. Gramineae (Poaceae) (2). In: Liu Liang, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 9(2): 1405
- Lu Sheng-lian, Sun Yong-hua, Liu Shang-wu, Yang Yong-chang, Wu Zhen-lan, Kuo Pen-chao, Yang Hsi-ling, Wang Chao-pin & Tsui Nai-ran. 1987. Gramineae (3). In: Kuo Pen-chao, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 9(3): 1329
- Wang Zhengping, Ye Guanghan, Yang Yaling, Yu Zehua, Hu Chenhua, Geng Bojie, Feng Xuelin, Jia Liangzhi, Xia Nianhe, Li Dezhu, Zhang Weiping, Xue Jiru, Zhu Zhengde, Zhao Qiseng, Chen Shouliang, Sheng Guoying, Chen Shaoyun, Yao Changyu, Lu Jionglin, Sun Jiliang, Lin Wantao, Yi Tongpei, Zhao Huiru, Wen Taihui & Dai Qihui. 1996. Gramineae (Poaceae) (1).
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2007. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed March 28, 2007.
- Jakubowsky, G. (University of Vienna, Institute of Botany) 2003. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 19, 2008.
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 7151646
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 15742385
- Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:896861-1
- International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 896861-1
- IUCN ID: 43911
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1027411
Footnotes
- Shou-liang Chen, De-Zhu Li, Guanghua Zhu, Zhenlan Wu, Sheng-lian Lu, Liang Liu, Zheng-ping Wang, Bi-xing Sun, Zheng-de Zhu, Nianhe Xia, Liang-zhi Jia, Zhenhua Guo, Wenli Chen, Xiang Chen, Yang Guangyao, Sylvia M. Phillips, Chris Stapleton, Robert J. Soreng, Susan G. Aiken, Nikolai N. Tzvelev, Paul M. Peterson, Stephen A. Renvoize, Marina V. Olonova & Klaus Ammann "Poaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 22. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
- Sheng-lian Lu & Sylvia M. Phillips "Agrostis". in Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 317, 340, 348, 349, 351, 353, 358, 359, 361. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
