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needle grama

Neally's grama, oneflower grama

Habit Plants annual; tufted. Plants perennial; cespitose, without rhizomes or stolons.
Culms

4-60 cm, outer culms of a tuft decumbent, sometimes geniculate, branched at the lower nodes.

20-60 cm, stiffly erect, glabrous.

Sheaths

mostly glabrous, a few long hairs present near the ligules;

ligules 0.2-0.5 mm, of hairs;

blades 6-16 cm long, 1-2 mm wide, involute when dry, glabrous, bases usually with papillose-based hairs on the margins.

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.

5-10(14) cm, with 15-70 branches;

branches 5-9 mm, deciduous, scabrous, with 1 spikelet (lower branches occasionally with 2 spikelets), axes extending 3-4 mm beyond the terminal spikelets, apices entire;

disarticulation at the base of the branches.

Spikelets

appressed.

appressed, with 1 bisexual and 0-1 rudimentary florets.

Glumes

acute to slightly cleft and minutely apiculate, midveins usually scabrous;

lower glumes 2.5-4 mm;

upper glumes 6.2-8 mm, mostly smooth, midveins usually scabrous;

lowest lemmas 6-7.5 mm, acute or minutely cleft, glabrous, unawned, sometimes mucronate;

lowest paleas unawned, glabrous;

anthers 2.5-3 mm, bright yellow;

second florets absent or reduced to 1 or 3 short awns, glabrous.

Caryopses

2.5-3 mm.

about 3 mm.

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.

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.

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.

2n

= 40.

= 20.

Bouteloua aristidoides

Bouteloua uniflora

Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; MD; NM; NV; TX; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

There are two varieties, both of which grow in the Flora region.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Bouteloua uniflora grows primarily in fertile, rocky, limestone soils of Texas and adjacent Coahuila, Mexico at 300-1000 m. A disjunct collection has been reported from Zion National Park, Utah. Plants in the Flora region belong to Bouteloua uniflora Vasey var. uniflora, which differs from B. uniflora var. coahuilensis Gould & Kapadia in having taller (40-60 cm, not 20-40 cm) leafy, rather than scapose, culms, longer leaf blades (12-16 cm versus 6-12 cm), and 50-70, rather than 15-40, panicle branches.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Panicle branches with 2-5 spikelets, usually 5-16 mm to the base of the terminal spikelets, axes usually extending an additional 6-10 mm
var. aristidoides
1. Panicle branches with 6-10 spikelets, usually 15-35 mm to the base of the terminal spikelets, axes extending an additional 2-5(7) mm
var. arizonica
Source FNA vol. 25, p. 255. FNA vol. 25, p. 255.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Chloridoideae > tribe Cynodonteae > Bouteloua > subg. Bouteloua Poaceae > subfam. Chloridoideae > tribe Cynodonteae > Bouteloua > subg. Bouteloua
Sibling taxa
B. barbata, B. breviseta, B. chondrosoides, B. curtipendula, B. eludens, B. eriopoda, B. gracilis, B. hirsuta, B. kayi, B. parryi, B. radicosa, B. ramosa, B. repens, B. rigidiseta, B. simplex, B. trifida, B. uniflora, B. warnockii
B. aristidoides, B. barbata, B. breviseta, B. chondrosoides, B. curtipendula, B. eludens, B. eriopoda, B. gracilis, B. hirsuta, B. kayi, B. parryi, B. radicosa, B. ramosa, B. repens, B. rigidiseta, B. simplex, B. trifida, B. warnockii
Subordinate taxa
B. aristidoides var. aristidoides, B. aristidoides var. arizonica
Name authority (Kunth) Griseb. Vasey
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