Beargrass | |
---|---|
Nolina bigelovii | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Asparagaceae |
Subfamily: | Nolinoideae |
Genus: | Nolina Michx. [1] |
Synonyms [2] | |
RouliniaBrongn. |
Nolina is a genus of tropical xerophytic flowering plants belonging to the Asparagaceae plant family. The native distribution of the genus includes most of Mexico and the southern regions of the United States. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Especially in the USA, members of the genus are known as beargrasses, [8] some of which are cultivated as ornamental plants.
Nolina species grow large rosettes of many leaves, with many species forming large, erect trunks, with some species branching to contain multiple rosettes of leaves. They are typically large plants, and are dioecious, with male and female flowers being produced on different plants. [4] [5] [9]
The genus is named for 18th century French arboriculturist Abbé C. P. Nolin. [4]
In the APG III classification system of plant taxonomy, Nolina is a member of the Asparagaceae family of plants, and within this family, Nolina is part of a subfamily, the Nolinoideae. In the past, many members of the Nolinoideae, including Nolina, were placed in the now defunct Ruscaceae family). [10] Former alternative placements include Nolinaceae and Agavaceae. [4]
Previously, some botanists have included the genus Beaucarnea in Nolina, and over time, multiple species of both genera have been moved back and forth between the two genera. More recent molecular phylogenetic research found that Beaucarnea and Nolina are well supported by DNA and morphological evidence as being two distinct genera. [11]
Nolina are perennial plants, with some growing as tufts of leaves arising from near ground level with little or only a short above ground stem, whilst others grow in a tree-like manner forming a woody, leafless caudex or trunk of up to about 2-3m, that with age, may branch to form multiple branches. The shorter species, especially those not forming an above ground stem, usually form colonies, often with many rosettes. The leaves are arranged into rosettes of many long, linear leaves, with the leaves being broader where they meet the stem. [12]
The inflorescence consists of a scape (or a bare stem arising from the leaf rosettes) of between 5-250cm length, with panicles of flowers, of 30 to 180cm in length, held along the scape. Each node holds 2-5 functionally unisexual flowers. The tepals are white, cream or light tan. The fruits are capsular, 3-locular, 3-lobed and often inflated. [12]
As of November 2024, World Flora Online (WFO) lists the genus Nolina to contain 30 accepted species, [13] with Plants of the World Online (POWO) recognising 35 accepted species. [3]
As of November 2024, the 35 accepted species of Nolina accepted by Kew/POWO are as follows: [3]
As of November 2024, the five species recognised by POWO not currently accepted by WFO are: [13] [3]
Nolinoideae is a monocot subfamily of the family Asparagaceae in the APG III system of 2009. It used to be treated as a separate family, Ruscaceae s.l. The family name is derived from the generic name of the type genus, Nolina.
Hechtia is a genus of plants in the family Bromeliaceae, and is the sole genus of the subfamily Hechtioideae, containing 75 species. Its species are native to Mexico, Central America, and Texas.
Dasylirion is a genus of succulent, rosette-forming plants in the Asparagaceae family. Most species are native to mountainous arid regions of Mexico, with some species also native to the Southwestern United States. The common name sotol is used in English and Spanish to describe various Dasylirion species, as well as giving its name to a distilled spirit called sotol made from some species of the genus.
Asparagaceae, known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edible garden asparagus, Asparagus officinalis. This family includes both common garden plants as well as common houseplants. The garden plants include asparagus, yucca, bluebell, and hosta, and the houseplants include snake plant, corn cane, spider plant, and plumosus fern.
Nolina parryi is a flowering plant that is native to Baja California, southern California and Arizona.
Beaucarnea is a genus of flowering plants native to Mexico and Central America. In the APG III classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae. Beaucarnea is sometimes treated as a synonym of the genus Nolina, with the species being then transferred to that genus. However, recent research shows that Beaucarnea should be treated as an independent genus.
Bouteloua is a genus of plants in the grass family Poaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as grama grass.
Hedeoma is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to North and South America. They are commonly known as false pennyroyals.
Gonolobus is a genus of plant in family Apocynaceae, first described in 1803. It is native to South America, Central America, Mexico, the West Indies, and the southern United States.
Nolina bigelovii is a flowering plant native to the Southwestern United States, California, and northwest Mexico. It grows in the driest desert areas and at elevations up to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft).
Nolina interrata is a rare species of flowering plant known by the common names Dehesa nolina and Dehesa beargrass. It is known from about ten occurrences in central San Diego County, California, and fewer than 100 individual plants on land across the border in Baja California. The plant was first described in 1946 when found at the type locality near El Cajon, California, and all the individuals known in California are located within a six-square-mile area there. Although rare, numbering about 9,000 plants total in existence, the species is relatively well protected in its habitat and a proposal for federal protected status was withdrawn.
Calibanus was a genus of two species of flowering plants, both evergreen succulents from dry areas of northeastern Mexico.The genus was subsumed in the genus Beaucarnea in the year 2014. The APG III classification system places Beaucarnea in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae The now-defunct Calibanus was formerly included in the Agavaceae but was separated from them, for it is polycarpic and dioecious. Its name refers to the monster Caliban, an antagonist in Shakespeare's The Tempest.
Hemiphylacus is a genus of flowering plants endemic to Mexico. In the APG III classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Asparagoideae.
Beaucarnea gracilis is a species of flowering plant in the Asparagaceae family. It is native to Puebla, and northern parts of Oaxaca, in Mexico, where it is endemic to the Tehuacán Valley matorral. It grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.
Nolina erumpens, the foothill beargrass, mesa sacahuista, or sand beargrass, is a member of the subfamily Nolinaceae of family Asparagaceae, native to New Mexico, Texas and adjacent regions of north Mexico.
Quercus chihuahuensis, the Chihuahua oak, is a species of oak in the beech family. It is native to the region from extreme western Texas west to Sonora, Mexico, and south to Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí. It grows mostly at mid elevations, from 400–2,000 metres above sea level, in forests mixed with various pines and other oaks. It is one of the dominant species of the Sierra Madre Occidental in Chihuahua and Sonora.
Beaucarnea glassiana is a species of flowering plant belonging to the genus Beaucarnea, which is a member of the Asparagaceae family. Beaucarnea glassiana forms a caudex geophyte and is native to the Mexican state of Guanajuato where it grows in areas of tropical deciduous forest and submontane central Mexican matorral in the Sierra Madre Oriental near Xichú.
Nolina beldingii is a species of perennial flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae known commonly as the Cape nolina or Belding's beargrass. It is an arborescent monocot growing up to 7 metres (23 ft) high, with fissured bark on a trunk topped with leaf rosettes. The narrow leaves are up to 1.15 m (3.8 ft) long, and are used as thatching by local peoples. This species is endemic to Baja California Sur in Mexico, where it grows only in the highest reaches of the Sierra de la Laguna. It is found primarily in oak forests at elevations over 1,000 m (3,300 ft) along rocky granite outcrops.
Nolina texana, the Texas sacahuiste or Texas beargrass, is a plant in the asparagus family that resembles a large clump of grass. It grows in the south central United States and Northern Mexico. They are sometimes grown as a garden plant in xeriscape or native plant gardens.