Aristida

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Aristida
Aristida purpurea form.jpg
Purple three-awn, Aristida purpurea
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Aristidoideae
Tribe: Aristideae
Genus: Aristida
L.
Type species
Aristida adscensionis
Synonyms [3]
  • KielboulAdans.
  • StreptachneR.Br.
  • ArthratherumP.Beauv.
  • ChaetariaP.Beauv.
  • CurtopogonP.Beauv.
  • CyrtopogonSpreng.
  • MoulinsiaRaf. 1830, illegitimate homonym not Cambess. 1829 nor Blume 1849
  • TrixostisRaf.
  • AristopsisCatasús
Pineland three-awn (A. stricta) flowers Aristida stricta.jpg
Pineland three-awn (A. stricta) flowers

Aristida is a very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family. [4] [5] Aristida is distinguished by having three awns (bristles) on each lemma of each floret. [6] The genus includes about 300 species found worldwide, often in arid warm regions. This genus is among those colloquially called three-awns wiregrasses, speargrasses and needlegrasses. [7] [8] [9] The name Aristida is derived from the Latin "arista", meaning "awn". [10]

Contents

They are characteristic of semiarid grassland. The Wiregrass Region of North America is named for A. stricta . Other locales where this genus is an important component of the ecosystem include the Carolina Bays, the sandhills of the Carolinas, and elsewhere, Mulga scrub in Australia, and the xeric grasslands around Lake Turkana in Africa. Local increases in the abundance of wiregrasses is a good indicator of overgrazing, as livestock avoid them.

Description

Aristida stems are ascending to erect, with both basal and cauline leaves. The leaves may be flat or inrolled, and the basal leaves may be tufted. The inflorescences may be either panicle-like or raceme-like, with spiky branches. The glumes of a spikelet are narrow lanceolate, usually without any awns, while the lemmas are hard, three-veined, and have the three awns near the tip. The awns may be quite long; in A. purpurea var. longiseta they may be up to 10 cm.

Species

Selected species include:

See also

Related Research Articles

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<i>Aristida purpurea</i> Species of flowering plant

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tussock grass</span> Species of grass

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<i>Aristida behriana</i> Species of plant

Aristida behriana is a native Australian species of grass commonly known as bunch wire grass or brush wire grass. It is a bright green perennial plant forming short, tufted tussocks up to 40 centimetres (16 in) high. Its seeds have three long, radiating awns; it is a member of genus Aristida, grasses known commonly as three-awns. The species favours low fertility and well-drained soils. It is commonly found in mallee woodlands and plains, where it grows on sunny slopes. Superficially, the flower heads resemble those of the invasive weed African feather-grass. A. behriana is found in all mainland Australian States.

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<i>Aristida rufescens</i> Species of grass

Aristida rufescens is a grass species native to Madagascar and to Mayotte in the Comoros archipelago. It was described by German agrostologist Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel in 1854.

<i>Aristida basiramea</i> Species of grass

Aristida basiramea, the forked three-awn, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae native to North America. The specific epithet basiramea means "branching from base".

Aristida dichotoma, known as churchmouse threeawn, fork-tip three-awn, pigbutt three-awn, and poverty grass, is a species of grass from eastern North America. It is native to the Eastern and Midwestern United States and Ontario, Canada. It has been introduced in California. It was described in 1803 by André Michaux.

<i>Aristida calycina</i> Species of grass in the family Poaceae

Aristida calycina, commonly known as dark wiregrass, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae that is native in Australia.

References

  1. Lectotype designated by Henrard, Meded. Rijks.-Herb. 54: 9 (1926)
  2. Tropicos, Aristida L.
  3. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  4. Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 1: 82 in Latin
  5. Tropicos, Aristida L
  6. Watson, L. and M. J. Dallwitz. (2008). "The grass genera of the world: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval; including synonyms, morphology, anatomy, physiology, phytochemistry, cytology, classification, pathogens, world and local distribution, and references". The Grass Genera of the World. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
  7. Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 453 三芒草属 san mang cao shu Aristida Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 82. 1753.
  8. Altervista Flora Italiana, genere Aristida includes photos, drawings, and range maps for several species
  9. Atlas of Living Australia, kerosene grasses, Aristida L.
  10. Merrit Lyndon Fernald (1970). R. C. Rollins (ed.). Gray's Manual of Botany (Eighth (Centennial) - Illustrated ed.). D. Van Nostrand Company. p. 174. ISBN   0-442-22250-5.