Digitaria californica

Last updated

Digitaria californica
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Panicoideae
Genus: Digitaria
Species:
D. californica
Binomial name
Digitaria californica
Synonyms [1]
List
    • Eriachne rigidaPhil.
    • Panicum californicumBenth.
    • Panicum friesiiHack. ex R.E.Fr.
    • Panicum lachnanthumTorr. nom. illeg.
    • Panicum saccharatumBuckley
    • Trichachne californica(Benth.) Chase ex Hitchc.
    • Trichachne saccharata(Buckley) Nash
    • Tricholaena saccharata(Buckley) Griseb.
    • Valota saccharata(Buckley) Chase

Digitaria californica is a species of grass known by the common name Arizona cottontop. It is native to the Americas, where it can be found in the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America. [2]

Contents

This perennial grass forms a clump of stems reaching up to a meter in height. The branching root system can reach one meter deep. There are no rhizomes or stolons. The leaf sheaths around the stems can be very hairy to woolly. The leaves are usually short and narrow. The inflorescence is a dense, narrow panicle containing pairs of woolly-haired spikelets. [2] [3]

This plant grows in a number of habitat types, including desert scrub and shrublands, shrubsteppe, and savanna. In the desert it sometimes grows beneath mesquites where it thrives in the local nutrients. It tolerates varying precipitation amounts and survives easily in drought conditions, becoming dormant at times, then growing quickly when rain returns. Much of its growth occurs in the summer, after the spring and summer rain cycles. [3]

This species is a preferred grass for livestock such as cattle. It tolerates high grazing activity, but not overgrazing. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Digitaria</i> Genus of plants (grasses; crabgrass)

Digitaria is a genus of plants in the grass family native to tropical and warm temperate regions but can occur in tropical, subtropical, and cooler temperate regions as well. Common names include crabgrass, finger-grass, and fonio. They are slender monocotyledonous annual and perennial lawn, pasture, and forage plants; some are often considered lawn pests. Digitus is the Latin word for "finger", and they are distinguished by the long, finger-like inflorescences they produce.

<i>Danthonia californica</i> Species of grass

Danthonia californica is a species of grass known by the common name California oatgrass. This plant is native to two separate regions of the Americas, western North America from California to Saskatchewan, and Chile.

<i>Festuca californica</i> Species of grass

Festuca californica is a species of grass known by the common name California fescue.

<i>Muhlenbergia richardsonis</i> Species of flowering plant

Muhlenbergia richardsonis, known by the common name mat muhly, is a species of grass. It is native to North America, where it can be found throughout much of Canada, Alaska, the western half of the contiguous United States through California, and in Baja California, Mexico.

<i>Linanthus pungens</i> Species of flowering plant

Linanthus pungens is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common names granite prickly-phlox and granite gilia. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Baja California and east to Montana and New Mexico.

<i>Eriocoma nelsonii</i> Species of flowering plant

Eriocoma nelsonii is a species of grass known by the common names Columbia needlegrass, subalpine needlegrass, and western needlegrass. It is native to western North America, from Yukon and British Columbia to California to Texas.

<i>Bouteloua barbata</i> Species of flowering plant

Bouteloua barbata is a species of grass known by the common name six-weeks grama native to North America.

<i>Calamagrostis montanensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Calamagrostis montanensis is a species of grass known by the common names plains reedgrass and prairie reedgrass. It is native to North America, where it is found across Canada from British Columbia to Manitoba and south to Colorado in the United States.

<i>Eragrostis curvula</i> Species of plant

Eragrostis curvula is a species of grass known by the common name weeping lovegrass. Other common names include Boer lovegrass, curved lovegrass, Catalina lovegrass, and African lovegrass.

<i>Eragrostis intermedia</i> Species of grass

Eragrostis intermedia is a species of grass known by the common name plains lovegrass. It is native to North and Central America, where it is distributed from the southeastern and southwestern United States south to Costa Rica. Its range may extend to South America.

<i>Acamptopappus sphaerocephalus</i> Species of flowering plant

Acamptopappus sphaerocephalus is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name rayless goldenhead. It is native to the southwestern United States, where it occurs in southern California, southern Nevada, southern Utah, and Arizona.

<i>Eragrostis lehmanniana</i> Species of grass

Eragrostis lehmanniana is a species of grass known by the common name Lehmann lovegrass. It is native to southern Africa. It is present elsewhere as an introduced species. It is well known as an invasive weed in some areas, such as Arizona in the United States.

Ambrosia deltoidea is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names triangle bur ragweed, triangle bursage, and triangleleaf bursage.

<i>Hilaria belangeri</i> Species of flowering plant

Hilaria belangeri is a species of grass known by the common name curly mesquite, sometimes written curlymesquite or curly-mesquite. It is not related to mesquites, which are legumes. This grass is native to Mexico and the southwestern United States from Arizona to Texas.

<i>Pappophorum vaginatum</i> Species of grass

Pappophorum vaginatum is a species of grass known by the common name whiplash pappusgrass. It is native to the Americas, where it occurs in Arizona, Texas, northern Mexico, and part of South America extending from Uruguay to Argentina.

<i>Poa fendleriana</i> Species of grass

Poa fendleriana is a species of grass known by the common name muttongrass. It is native to western North America, where its distribution extends from western Canada to northern Mexico.

<i>Bothriochloa pertusa</i> Species of plant

Bothriochloa pertusa is a species of grass. It is widely used as a fodder and a graze for livestock.

<i>Digitaria didactyla</i> Species of flowering plant

Digitaria didactyla is a species of grass known by the common names blue couch, Queensland blue couch, blue serangoon grass, green serangoon grass, blue stargrass, and petit gazon. It is native to Mauritius, Réunion, parts of mainland Africa, and Madagascar. It has been introduced widely outside its native range, mainly for use as a pasture and turf grass. It has naturalized in some regions.

<i>Eragrostis setifolia</i> Species of plant

Eragrostis setifolia, commonly known as neverfail grass, is a species of perennial grass in the family Poaceae native to Australia, where it is widespread and common throughout the range lands and is commonly utilized as a pasture grass. According to IUCN classification it is listed as a least concern species throughout most of its range with the exception of Victoria where it is classified as vulnerable. It is capable of C4 photosynthesis.

References

  1. "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species" . Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  2. 1 2 Digitaria californica. Archived 2012-06-13 at the Wayback Machine Grass Manual Treatment.
  3. 1 2 3 Walsh, Roberta A. 1993. Digitaria californica. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory

Further reading