Tuctoria

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Tuctoria
Tuctoria greenei.jpg
Tuctoria greenei
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Chloridoideae
Tribe: Cynodonteae
Subtribe: Orcuttiinae
Genus: Tuctoria
J.Reeder
Type species
Tuctoria fragilis
(Swallen) J.Reeder
Species

T. fragilis
T. greenei
T. mucronata

Tuctoria is a genus of three species of grass in the family Poaceae. Spiralgrass is a common name for plants in this genus. [1] These are bunchgrass species that are found in vernal pools of central California and Baja California, Mexico. The plants are annuals that germinate under water in the spring and grow submerged for weeks. After the pools dry down, the grasses initiate a new set of foliage that lasts for one to two months until flowering and fruiting are complete.

Taxonomy

The genus was circumscribed by John R. Reeder in 1982. Along with Orcuttia and Neostapfia , Tuctoria is one of three genera in the tribe Orcuttieae, previously outlined by Reeder in 1965. [2] All three Tuctoria species were formerly assigned to Orcuttia, the type genus of Orcuttieae. Reeder erected Tuctoria after determining that the three species were more closely related among themselves than to any of the other Orcuttia species. Shared features include chromosome numbers, the spiral arrangement of spikelets on the rachis, the absence of juvenile leaves, the presence of lodicules, and the presence of an epiblast in the seed embryos. The name Tuctoria is an anagram of Orcuttia. [3]

Recent (2010) molecular phylogenetic analysis suggests that Tuctoria is not monophyletic as currently circumscribed, and is in need of taxonomic revision. [4]

Description

Tuctoria species have their spikelets spirally arranged on the axis; lemmas are entire (with a smooth, even margin) or denticulate (finely toothed), and often have a centrally placed short, sharp tip (mucro). The inflorescence is not cylindrical (as in Neostapfia), and the spikelets are laterally flattened. The lemmas are narrower, the tip is mucronate or otherwise entire or denticulate. The caryopsis is not sticky, and the brown embryo is visible throughout the light-colored pericarp. [3]

Species

There are three species in Tuctoria.

Ecology and distribution

Vernal pool in Sacramento Valley, central California Vernal Pools 2.jpg
Vernal pool in Sacramento Valley, central California

Tuctoria species are endemic to seasonal pools in the southwestern US. Like all species in tribe Orcuttieae, the growth of Tuctoria species is initiated underwater. When pools dry, the plants undergo a metamorphosis whereby aquatic foliage is replaced with terrestrial foliage. [8] The terrestrial foliage has Kranz anatomy, indicating the use of C-4 photosynthesis. This adaptation help the plants survive the longs periods of drought-like conditions experienced when the pools dry. [9] In years with little rainfall, their seed banks remain dormant until a season of rainfall that is adequate to fill the pool basins. In T. greenei, germination is almost entirely dependent upon a combination of anaerobic conditions and light. This strategy helps the plant begin germination when pool basins are filled with water. In years of low precipitation, the soil subsurface is likely to be anaerobic or hypoxic, and inhibit germination. [10]

Tuctoria greenei is of high conservation concern in California, as vernal pool systems are in decline due to agricultural development and urban expansion. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<i>Lolium pratense</i> Species of grass

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References

  1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Tuctoria". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  2. Reeder, John R. (1965). "The tribe Orcuttieae and the subtribes of the Pappophoreae (Gramineae)". Madroño. 18 (1): 18–28. JSTOR   41423175.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Reeder, John R. (1982). "Systematics of the tribe Orcuttieae (Gramineae) and the description of a new segregate genus, Tuctoria". American Journal of Botany. 69 (7): 1082–95. doi:10.2307/2443083. JSTOR   2443083.
  4. Boykin, Laura M.; Kubatko, Laura Salter; Lowrey, Timothy K. (2010). "Comparison of methods for rooting phylogenetic trees: A case study using Orcuttieae (Poaceae: Chloridoideae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 54 (3): 687–700. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2009.11.016. PMID   19931622.
  5. Swallen, Jason R. (1944). "A new species of Orcuttia from Baja California". Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences. 34: 308.
  6. Vasey, George (1891). "New grasses". Botanical Gazette. 16 (5): 145–147. doi:10.1086/326655. JSTOR   2993784. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  7. Crampton, B. (1959). "The grass genera Orcuttia and Neostapfia: a study in habitat and morphological specialization". Madroño. 15 (4): 97–110. JSTOR   41422993.
  8. Keeley, J.E. (1988). "Diel acid fluctuations in C-4 amphibious grasses" (PDF). Photosynthetica. 35 (2): 273–277. doi:10.1023/A:1006927327013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04.
  9. Keeley, Jon E. (1998). "C4 photosynthetic modifications in the evolutionary transition from land to water in aquatic grasses" (PDF). Oecologia. 116 (1/2): 85–97. Bibcode:1998Oecol.116...85K. doi:10.1007/s004420050566. JSTOR   4222061. PMID   28308544. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-05-04. (online pdf here: https://www.docdroid.net/fsBkZsK/c4-photosynthetic-modifications-in-the-evolutionary-transition-from-land-to-water-in-aquatic-grasses.pdf)
  10. Keeley, Jon E. (1988). "Anaerobiosis as a stimulus to germination in two vernal pool grasses" (PDF). American Journal of Botany. 75 (7): 1086–1089. doi:10.2307/2443777. JSTOR   2443777. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. (online pdf here: https://www.docdroid.net/LAenrBq/anaerobiosis-as-a-stimulus-to-germination-in-two-vernal-pool-grasses.pdf)
  11. Gordon, Sarah P.; Sloop, Christina M.; Davis, Heather G.; Cushman, J. Hall (2012). "Population genetic diversity and structure of two rare vernal pool grasses in central California" (PDF). Conservation Genetics. 13 (1): 117–130. Bibcode:2012ConG...13..117G. doi:10.1007/s10592-011-0269-y.