Aristida schiedeana |
Aristida gypsophila |
|
---|---|---|
single threeawn |
gypsum threeawn |
|
Habit | Plants perennial; cespitose. | Plants perennial. |
Culms | 30-120 cm, erect, unbranched. |
45-80 cm, erect, usually unbranched. |
Leaves | basal and cauline, pale green, sometimes glaucous; sheaths longer or shorter than the internodes, glabrous except at the summit; collars densely to sparsely pilose or glabrous; ligules less than 0.5 mm; blades 8-30 cm long, 1-2 mm wide, usually flat, often curled at maturity. |
basal and cauline; sheaths longer than the internodes, glabrous except at the summit; collars densely pilose, hairs 1-3 mm, cobwebby and tangled, often deflexed; ligules less than 0.5 mm; blades 5-15 cm long, about 0.5 mm wide, usually involute, occasionally loosely folded, glabrous, light green. |
Inflorescences | paniculate, 10-30 cm long, (4)8-26 cm wide; rachis nodes with straight hairs, hairs to 0.8 mm; primary branches 6-16 cm, abruptly spreading to divaricate, stiff to lax, with axillary pulvini, usually not spikelet-bearing below midlength. |
paniculate, 12-20 cm long, 2-8 cm wide; primary branches 2-5 cm, erect to horizontal, with or without axillary pulvini, with 1-5 spikelets. |
Spikelets | appressed, rarely spreading. |
appressed or with axillary pulvini and spreading. |
Glumes | 1(3)-veined, brown or purple at maturity, acuminate; lower glumes 6-13 mm; upper glumes equaling or to 4 mm shorter than the lower glumes; calluses 0.8-1.2 mm; lemmas 10-15(17) mm, terminating in a strongly twisted, 2-4 mm awnlike beak, junction with the awns not conspicuous; awns not disarticulating at maturity; central awns 5-12 mm, markedly bent near the base; lateral awns absent or to 1(3) mm, erect; anthers 1.2-2.2 mm, brownish. |
6-10(12) mm, equal or the lower glumes slightly shorter, 1-veined, brownish; calluses about 0.5 mm; lemmas (6)7-14(16) mm, mostly smooth, mottled, terminating in a 2-4 mm, usually twisted, scabrous beak; central awns 5-10 mm, sharply curved at the base, spreading distally; lateral awns absent or to 3 mm, erect; anthers 3, about 1.5 mm, brown. |
Caryopses | 6-8 mm. |
5-8 mm. |
2n | = 22, 44. |
= unknown. |
Aristida schiedeana |
Aristida gypsophila |
|
Distribution |
AZ; CA; NM; TX
|
TX |
Discussion | Aristida schiedeana grows on rocky slopes and plains, generally in pinyon-juniper, oak, or ponderosa pine communities. Plants from the southwestern United States and northern Mexico belong to A. schiedeana var. orcuttiana (Vasey) Allred & Valdes-Reyna, in which the lower glumes are usually glabrous and longer than the upper glumes, and the collar and throat are usually glabrous. Aristida schiedeana var. schiedeana grows in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras, and has puberulent, equal glumes and pilose collars and throats. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Aristida gypsophila grows on rocky limestone or gypsum hills in thorn-scrub communities of the Chihuahuan Desert, almost always growing in the protection of shrubs. It is very similar to A. pansa, which differs in having three well-developed awns and being, usually, shorter in stature. Both species have involute blades with a characteristic tuft of cobwebby hairs at the collar. Plants from the United States have spreading primary branches with axillary pulvini and appressed spikelets. Mexican plants sometimes have primary branches with no axillary pulvini. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 25, p. 323. | FNA vol. 25, p. 326. |
Parent taxa | Poaceae > subfam. Aristidoideae > tribe Aristideae > Aristida | Poaceae > subfam. Aristidoideae > tribe Aristideae > Aristida |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Trin. & Rupr. | Beetle |
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