Dasyochloa

Dasyochloa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Poaceae
Subfamily:	Chloridoideae
Tribe:	Cynodonteae
Subtribe:	Scleropogoninae
Genus:	Dasyochloa Willd. ex Rydb.
Species:	D. pulchella
Binomial name
Dasyochloa pulchella (Kunth) Willd. ex Rydb.
Synonyms
Erioneuron pulchellum Tridens pulchellus Triodia pulchella

Dasyochloa is a monotypic genus containing the single species Dasyochloa pulchella ^[1] (formerly Erioneuron pulchellum), ^[2] also known as desert fluff-grass or low woollygrass.^{[ citation needed ]} It is a densely tufted perennial grass found in the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.

Description

It is a perennial bunchgrass forming small tufts just a few centimeters high with clumps of short, sharp-pointed leaves. The tufts are often enveloped in masses of cottony fibers; these are actually hairlike strands of excreted and evaporated mineral salts. ^[1]

The leaves produce soft, cob-webby hairs that dissolve in water, after summer rains. ^[3] The hairs are typically not present in spring. ^[3] Numerous hairless, wiry, stems are 5–13 centimetres (2–5 in) tall. ^[3]

The hairy inflorescence is a spikelet on the end of the stem, surrounded by a bundle of bractlike leaves, and is 6–12 cm (2+1⁄2–4+1⁄2 in) long. ^[3] The spikelets are pale in color, sometimes striped with red, purple, or green.^{[ citation needed ]} It blooms from February to May. ^[3]

Distribution and habitat

It is native to the Southwestern United States, California, and northern to central Mexico, where it grows in dry regions such as deserts. ^[3]

References

1. Grass Manual Treatment Archived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine
2. Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam Mackay, 2nd Ed. 2013, p. 314
3. Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam Mackay, 2nd Ed. 2013, p. 283

External links

• Jepson Manual Treatment
• USDA Plants Profile
• Photo gallery