Bouteloua aristidoides |
Bouteloua eriopoda |
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needle grama |
black grama |
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Habit | Plants annual; tufted. | Plants perennial; often shortly rhizomatous, stoloniferous, stolons long, densely woolly-pubescent. | ||||
Culms | 4-60 cm, outer culms of a tuft decumbent, sometimes geniculate, branched at the lower nodes. |
20-60(75) cm, wiry, decumbent, rooting at the lower nodes; lower internodes densely woolly-pubescent. |
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Sheaths | mostly glabrous or sparsely pilose, usually pilose near the ligules; ligules 0.1-0.4 mm, of hairs; blades 2.5-6 cm long, 0.5-2 mm wide, scabrous adaxially, margins with papillose-based hairs basally. |
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Panicles | 2.5-10.5 cm, with (1)4-15 branches; branches 5-45 mm, deciduous, densely pubescent (at least basally), with 2-10 spikelets per branch, axes extending 2-10 mm beyond the base of the terminal spikelets, apices entire; disarticulation at the base of the branches, the break forming a sharp tip. |
(1)2-16 cm, with (1)2-8 branches; branches 14-50 mm, persistent, densely woolly-pubescent basally, with 8-18 spikelets, axes terminating in entire, sometimes scarious apices; disarticulation above the glumes. |
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Spikelets | appressed. |
pectinate, with 1 bisexual floret and 1 rudimentary floret. |
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Glumes | unequal, smooth or scabrous; lower glumes 2-4.5 mm; upper glumes 4.5-8(9) mm, glabrous, scabrous, or with hairs, hairs to 0.5 mm, not papillose-based; lower lemmas 4-7 mm, pubescent basally, glabrous or sparsely puberulent distally, acuminate, central awns 0.5-4 mm, lateral awns absent or shorter than 1 mm; lower paleas acuminate, unawned; anthers 1.5-3 mm, yellow to orange; rachilla segment to second florets about 2 mm, with a distal tuft of hairs; upper florets rudimentary, an awn column terminating in 3 awns of 4-9 mm. |
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Caryopses | 2.5-3 mm. |
2.5-3 mm. |
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Ligules | 0.2-0.5 mm, membranous, lacerate or ciliate; blades 2-5(9) cm long, 0.7-2 mm wide, flat or folded, adaxial surfaces sometimes with papillose-based hairs, margins usually with papillose-based hairs near the ligules. |
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Proximal | spikelet on each branch with 1 floret; lower glumes 1.5-3.5 mm, glabrous, narrow to subulate; upper glumes 5.5-6.2 mm, densely pubescent, at least on the basal 1/2; lemmas 5.8-6 mm, acuminate, unawned; lowest paleas almost as long as the lemmas, bifid, glabrous; rachillas prolonged beyond the florets for about 0.5 mm. |
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Distal | spikelets with 1 bisexual and 1 rudimentary floret, glumes unequal, glabrous, minutely scabrous on the keels; narrowly acute or acuminate; lower glumes 1.5-2 mm; upper glumes 5-6 mm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent basally, often divergent; lowest lemmas 6-8 mm, veins pubescent, lateral veins excurrent as short (to 1 mm) awns, acuminate, midvein extended into a setaceous tip or a short awn; lowest paleas 5-7 mm, bifid, veins often excurrent as short awns; anthers about 2.5 mm, yellow or yellow and red; distal florets reduced to a pubescent, 3-awned, awn column, awns 2-7 mm, exserted. |
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2n | = 40. |
= 20, 21, 28. |
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Bouteloua aristidoides |
Bouteloua eriopoda |
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Distribution |
AZ; CA; MD; NM; NV; TX; UT
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AZ; CA; CO; KS; NM; NV; OK; TX; UT; WY
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Discussion | There are two varieties, both of which grow in the Flora region. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Bouteloua eriopoda grows on dry plains, foothills, and open forested slopes, often in shrubby habitats, and also in waste ground. It is usually found between 1000-1800 m, but extends to 2500 m. Once a dominant in much of its range, under heavy grazing B. eriopoda persists only where protected by shrubs or cacti because it is highly palatable. Its range extends from the southwestern United States to northern Mexico. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 25, p. 255. | FNA vol. 25, p. 262. | ||||
Parent taxa | Poaceae > subfam. Chloridoideae > tribe Cynodonteae > Bouteloua > subg. Bouteloua | Poaceae > subfam. Chloridoideae > tribe Cynodonteae > Bouteloua > subg. Chondrosum | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | Chondrosum eriopodum | |||||
Name authority | (Kunth) Griseb. | (Torr.) Torr. | ||||
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