Tragus (plant)

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Tragus
Tragus australianus.jpg
Tragus australianus
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: Traginae
Genus: Tragus
Haller 1768 not Panz. 1813
Type species
Tragus racemosus
(L.) All.
Synonyms [1]
  • LappagoSchreb.
  • NaziaAdans.
  • EchisachysNeck.
  • EchinanthusCerv.

Tragus, commonly called bur gras, [2] burr grass or carrot-seed grass, is a genus of plants in the grass family. It is native to Africa, Australia, and Eurasia with several species on islands in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans plus one species in Argentina. [3] [4] [5]

Plants are monoecious, stoloniferous, and either annual or perennial depending on the species. The genus has been introduced in subtropical and tropical areas around the world as weeds of disturbed areas. The culms (stems) are ascending or low and mat forming, glabrous, and circular in cross-section. Blades are flat or folded and linear, ligules membraneous and trichomatous. Flowers are born in narrow panicles; the primary branches are spirally arranged, each possessing 2-5 spikelets; each of these spikelets bears a single floret. Each floret has 3 stamens, the anthers of which are pale yellow. The caryopses (grains) are elliptical and golden-brown. [6] [7] [8]

Four species of Tragus have been introduced to North America: T. australianus, T. berteronianus, T. heptaneuron, and T. racemosus. [9] The natural chromosome count is 2n = 20 in T. berteronianus, and 2n = 40 in T. racemosus. [10] Tragus species utilize C4 photosynthesis. They prevent erosion, but make for poor grazing and in larger numbers indicate overgrazing. [11]

Species [1] [12]
formerly included [1]

several species now regarded as better suited to other genera: Brachypodium Bromus Festuca Leptothrium Lolium Pseudechinolaena

Related Research Articles

<i>Lolium</i> Genus of plants (tufted grasses)

Lolium is a genus of tufted grasses in the bluegrass subfamily (Pooideae). It is often called ryegrass, but this term is sometimes used to refer to grasses in other genera.

<i>Festuca</i> Genus in the grass family Poaceae

Festuca (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family Poaceae. They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of 10–200 cm (4–79 in) and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on every continent except Antarctica. The genus is closely related to ryegrass (Lolium), and recent evidence from phylogenetic studies using DNA sequencing of plant mitochondrial DNA shows that the genus lacks monophyly. As a result, plant taxonomists have moved several species, including the forage grasses tall fescue and meadow fescue, from the genus Festuca into the genus Lolium, or alternatively into the segregate genus Schedonorus.

<i>Brachypodium sylvaticum</i> Species of grass

Brachypodium sylvaticum, commonly known as false-brome, slender false brome or wood false brome, is a perennial grass native to Europe, Asia and Africa. It has a broad native range stretching from North Africa to Eurasia.

<i>Brachypodium pinnatum</i> Species of grass

Brachypodium pinnatum, the heath false brome or tor-grass, is a species of grass with a widespread distribution in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It typically grows in calcareous grassland, and reaches 70–120 centimetres (28–47 in) tall. The flowerhead is open, with 10 to 15 erect spikelets.

<i>Lolium perenne</i> Species of plant

Lolium perenne, common name perennial ryegrass, English ryegrass, winter ryegrass, or ray grass, is a grass from the family Poaceae. It is native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa, but is widely cultivated and naturalised around the world.

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

Lolium pratense, meadow fescue is a perennial species of grass, which is often used as an ornamental in gardens, and is also an important forage crop. It grows in meadows, roadsides, old pastures, and riversides on moist, rich soils, especially on loamy and heavy soils.

<i>Brachypodium</i> Genus of grasses

Brachypodium is a genus of plants in the grass family, widespread across much of Africa, Eurasia, and Latin America. The genus is classified in its own tribe Brachypodieae.

<i>Bromus hordeaceus</i> Species of grass

Bromus hordeaceus, the soft brome, is an annual or biennial species of grass in the grass family (Poaceae). It is also known in North America as bull grass, soft cheat, and soft chess.

<i>Lolium arundinaceum</i> Species of flowering plant

Lolium arundinaceum, tall fescue is a cool-season perennial C3 species of grass that is native to Europe. It occurs on woodland margins, in grassland and in coastal marshes. It is also an important forage grass with many cultivars that used in agriculture and is used as an ornamental grass in gardens, and sometimes as a phytoremediation plant.

<i>Bromus secalinus</i> Species of grass

Bromus secalinus is a species of bromegrass known as rye brome. The specific epithet secalinus is Latin, meaning "rye-like". The fruits are hard, rounded glumes that appear superficially similar to the rye grain, which gives the brome its common and scientific name. The grass has a diploid number of 28.

<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>Bromus madritensis</i> Species of grass

Bromus madritensis is a species of brome grass known by the common name compact brome. The specific epithet madritensis refers to Madrid, Spain. It has a diploid number of 28.

<i>Bromus catharticus</i> Species of grass

Bromus catharticus is a species of brome grass known by the common names rescuegrass, grazing brome, prairie grass, and Schrader's bromegrass. The specific epithet catharticus is Latin, meaning cathartic. The common name rescuegrass refers to the ability of the grass to provide forage after harsh droughts or severe winters. The grass has a diploid number of 42.

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

Lolium giganteum, giant fescue, is a woodland grass that grows on neutral to base-rich soils, often near streams or other damp places. It is native to Europe and much of Asia and has been introduced to parts of North America.

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

Lolium rigidum is a species of annual grass. Common names by which it is known include annual ryegrass, a name also given to Italian ryegrass, rigid ryegrass, stiff darnel, Swiss ryegrass and Wimmera ryegrass. It is a native of southern Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent and is grown as a forage crop, particularly in Australia, where it is also a serious and economically damaging crop weed.

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

Festuca brachyphylla, commonly known as alpine fescue or short-leaved fescue, is a grass native to Eurasia, North America, and the Arctic. The grass is used for erosion control and revegetation. The specific epithet brachyphylla means "short-leaved". The grass has a diploid number of 28, 42, or 44. This species was first described in 1827.

<i>Tragus racemosus</i> Species of grass

Tragus racemosus, commonly referred to as stalked bur grass, European bur grass, or large carrot seed grass, is a species of grass native to Europe. It is often confused with a similar plant of the same genus, Tragus berteronianus. It is a monocot and is considered a weed in many countries and is a relatively uncommon seed contaminant.

<i>Bromus racemosus</i> Species of grass in the genus Bromus

Bromus racemosus, the smooth brome or bald brome, is a species of flowering plant in the family Poaceae. It is native to subarctic and temperate Eurasia, and widely introduced elsewhere, including North America, Iceland, the Southern Cone of South America, the Korean Peninsula, Australia, and New Zealand. It grows in alkaline meadows and in waste places.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ↑ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Tragus". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  3. ↑ Haller, Albrecht von. 1768. Historia Stirpium Indigenarum Helvetiae Inchoata 2: 203
  4. ↑ Tropicos, Tragus Haller
  5. ↑ Ausgrass2, Grasses of Australia
  6. ↑ "RLEM 610 grass taxonomy tragus". Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  7. ↑ Flora of China, Vol. 22 Page 495 锋芒草属 feng mang cao shu Tragus Haller, Hist. Stirp. Helv. 2: 203. 1768.
  8. ↑ Altervista Flora Italiana, Lappola, European Bur Grass, Klettengras, Tragus à grappes, Carretes, Tragus Archived 2015-02-01 at the Wayback Machine includes photos and distribution maps
  9. ↑ Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution maps
  10. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-06-26. Retrieved 2008-02-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ↑ Tragus koelerioides
  12. ↑ The Plant List search for Tragus

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