Pleuropogon californicus |
Pleuropogon hooverianus |
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annual semaphoregrass, California semaphoregrass, semaphore grass |
Hoover's semaphoregrass, north coast semaphore grass |
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Habit | Plants annual or perennial; cespitose, with many innovations, not rhizomatous, or with poorly developed rhizomes. | Plants perennial; not cespitose, rhizomatous. | ||||
Culms | 15-95 cm, erect or geniculate at the base, sometimes rooting at the lower nodes; nodes 3-6. |
1-1.6 m, erect. |
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Sheaths | glabrous; ligules 2-6 mm; blades 3-29 cm long, 3-8 mm wide, adaxial surfaces slightly scabridulous. |
glabrous, retrorsely scabridulous; ligules 3-6.5 mm; blades 3-30 cm long, 4-10 mm wide, apices acute to acuminate, mucronate, flag leaves often with reduced spinose blades. |
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Racemes | 8-35 cm, with 6-13 spikelets; internodes 1-6 cm; pedicels 1-5.5(9) mm, ascending to spreading. |
21-33 cm, with 7-10 spikelets; internodes 1.8-8 cm; pedicels 1.5-5 mm, erect or ascending, rarely reflexed. |
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Spikelets | 15-60 mm, ascending to spreading, with 7-20(30) florets, lower florets bisexual, upper florets pistillate, terminal florets sterile. |
28-42 mm, erect or ascending, with 9-16 florets, usually all but the terminal floret bisexual. |
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Glumes | lanceolate to broadly ovate; lower glumes 1-4.5 mm; upper glumes 2-6.5 mm, 1-3-veined; rachilla internodes 1-2.8 mm long, 0.2-0.5 mm thick, with a glandular swelling at the base; lemmas 4.5-7.5 mm, 7(9)-veined, veins distinct, often prominent, apices truncate or emarginate, unawned or awned, awns to 11 mm; paleal keels scabridulous, each with a 0.5-2.5 mm triangular, winglike appendage, often denticulate beyond the appendage; anthers 2.5-4 mm. |
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Lower glumes | 3-5.6 mm; upper glumes 4.5-7.2 mm, 1-3-veined; rachilla internodes 2-3 mm long, about 0.4 mm thick, basal 1/2 developing into a glandular swelling; lemmas 8-9 mm, 7-veined, lateral veins strongly ribbed, apices toothed, usually rounded, rarely acute or erose, awned, awns 0.2-4 mm; paleal keels unawned, each with a 0.6-1.5 mm triangular appendage; anthers 4-4.8 mm. |
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Caryopses | 2.5-3.1 mm. |
3.5-4 mm. |
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2n | =16, 36. |
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Pleuropogon californicus |
Pleuropogon hooverianus |
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Distribution |
CA
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CA
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Discussion | Pleuropogon hooverianus grows in wet and marshy areas, usually in shady locations. Several of the populations are around redwood groves. It is known only from Mendocino, Sonoma, and Marin counties in California. It is listed as rare by the state of California. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 24. | FNA vol. 24. | ||||
Parent taxa | Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Meliceae > Pleuropogon | Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Meliceae > Pleuropogon | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Name authority | (Nees) Benth. ex Vasey | (L.D. Benson) J.T. Howell | ||||
Web links |