Nassella tenuissima |
Nassella neesiana |
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Mexican feathergrass, Mexican needlegrass |
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Habit | Plants perennial, 25–100 cm tall, densely cespitose. | |
Culms | 0.4–0.7(1.1) mm thick; internodes mostly glabrous, pubescent just below the lower nodes; nodes glabrous. |
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Leaves | sheaths glabrous, sometimes minutely scabrous; ligules 1–5 mm; acute, glabrous; blades 7–60 cm × 0.2–1.5 mm, usually convolute; stiff, glabrous, minutely scabrous. |
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Inflorescences | loosely contracted, 8–50 cm, often partly enclosed by the uppermost leaf sheath at maturity; branches ascending, 2–8 cm; pedicels 1–11 mm. |
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Glumes | subequal, narrowly lanceolate, 5–13 × 0.5–1.2 mm, glabrous, awned. |
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Florets | somewhat laterally compressed. |
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Calluses | blunt, 0.2–0.5 mm, with appressed hairs to approximately 25–33% as long as the lemmas. |
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Lemmas | (1.5)2.5–3 ×approximately 0.5 mm; widest at about mid-length, covered with minute bumps; midveins pubescent on the lower 75%; crowns 0.1–0.2 × 0.2–0.25 mm; rims with hairs less than 0.5 mm; awns arising near the center of the lemma tip; more or less wavy, obscurely bent twice, 45–100 mm. |
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Anthers | 3, 1.2–1.5 mm. |
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Nassella tenuissima |
Nassella neesiana |
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Distribution | ||
Discussion | Disturbed urban areas, pine and oak savannas and dry grasslands. 0–100m. WV. NM, TX, Mexico; South Africa, Australia, New Zealand. Exotic. Nassella tenuissima is an attractive, drought-tolerant bunchgrass with narrow leaves and feathery inflorescences. It has very long, wavy lemma awns. It is frequently used in ornamental plantings and occasionally escapes into disturbed habitats. |
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Source | Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 438 Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting |
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Sibling taxa | ||
Web links |