Needle
Grass (Stipa)
By Bruce Homer-Smith
Stipa is the primary California genus in the Needlegrass Tribe.
California’s
needle grasses have distinctive characters:
·
They’re
bunch grasses with narrow, branched inflorescences.
·
Spikelets have a single cylindrical floret, commonly with an awn from 1/8” to 9” long, sometimes bent.
·
The
floret is membranous to rigid.
·
Glumes are membranous and long enough to hide
the floret.
Here
are some examples:
Drawing © John Muir Laws |
Foothill Needlegrass (Stipa lepida) Illustrated Flora of the Pacific States |
King’s Ricegrass (Stipa kingii) Photo by Steve Matson |
Little Ricegrass (Stipa exigua) Photo by Steve Matson |
The top
photos are classic, native needle grass species, widespread in California. The rice grasses below are also natives but with
smaller spikelets and awns.
Leaf sheaths are open. Ligules have
fine hairs on their edges.
Parish’s Needlegrass (Stipa parishii var. parishii)
Photo by Keir Morse
California
has 31 species of Stipa. They fall into two groups – needle grasses
with their needle look, and rice grasses that resemble true rice (Oryza).
Corrections/Comments: bruce@PlantID.net Copyright: https://PlantID.net/Contributors.aspx |