Common Name: GRASS FAMILY Habit: Annual to woody perennial herb; roots generally fibrous. Stem: generally round, hollow; nodes swollen, solid. Leaf: alternate, 2-ranked, generally linear, parallel-veined; sheath generally open; ligule membranous or hairy, at blade base. Inflorescence: various (of generally many spikelets). Spikelet: glumes generally 2; florets (lemma, palea, flower) 1--many; lemma generally membranous, sometimes glume-like; palea generally +- transparent, +- enclosed by lemma. Flower: generally bisexual, minute; perianth vestigial; stamens generally 3; stigmas generally 2, generally plumose. Fruit: grain, sometimes achene- or utricle-like. Genera In Family: 650--900 genera; +- 10550 species: worldwide; greatest economic importance of any family (wheat, rice, maize, millet, sorghum, sugar cane, forage crops, ornamental, weeds; thatching, weaving, building materials). Note: Generally wind-pollinated. Achnatherum, Ampelodesmos, Hesperostipa, Nassella, Piptatherum, Piptochaetium, Ptilagrostis moved to Stipa; Elytrigia, Leymus, Pascopyrum, Pseudoroegneria, Taeniatherum to Elymus; Hierochloe to Anthoxanthum; Lolium, Vulpia to Festuca; Lycurus to Muhlenbergia; Monanthochloe to Distichlis; Pleuraphis to Hilaria; Rhynchelytrum to Melinis. The following taxa (in genera not included here), recorded in California from historical collections or reported in literature, are extirpated, lacking vouchers, or not considered naturalized: Acrachne racemosa (Roth) Ohwi, Allolepis texana (Vasey) Soderstr. & H.F. Decker, Amphibromus nervosus (Hook. f.) Baill., Axonopus affinis Chase, Axonopus fissifolius (Raddi) Kuhlm., Coix lacryma-jobi L., Cutandia memphitica (Spreng.) K. Richt., Dinebra retroflexa (Vahl) Panz., Eremochloa ciliaris (L.) Merr., Eustachys distichophylla (Lag.) Nees, Gaudinia fragilis (L.) P. Beauv., Miscanthus sinensis Andersson, Neyraudia arundinacea (L.) Henrard, Phyllostachys aurea Rivière & C. Rivière, Phyllostachys bambusoides Siebold & Zuccarini, Rottboellia cochinchinensis (Lour.) Clayton, Schedonnardus paniculatus (Nutt.) Branner & Coville, Schizachyrium cirratum (Hack.) Wooton & Standl., Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash, Themeda quadrivalvis (L.) Kuntze, Thysanolaena latifolia (Hornem.) Honda, Tribolium obliterum (Hemsl.) Renvoize, Zea mays L., Zizania palustris L. var. interior (Fassett) Dore, Zoysia japonica Steud. Paspalum pubiflorum E. Fourn., Paspalum quadrifarium Lam., are now reported for southern California (J Bot Res Inst Texas 4:761--770). See Glossary p. 30 for illustrations of general family characteristics. eFlora Treatment Author: James P. Smith, Jr., except as noted Scientific Editor: James P. Smith, Jr., J. Travis Columbus, Dieter H. Wilken.
Common Name: CRAB GRASS Habit: Annual, perennial herb. Stem: decumbent to erect. Leaf: basal and cauline; ligule membranous, ciliate or not; blade generally flat. Inflorescence: digitate to panicle-like; 1° branches +- spike-like, spreading to ascending; spikelets generally many per branch, 2 or 3 per node, short-stalked to subsessile, on one side of axis. Spikelet: dorsally compressed, falling as 1 unit; glumes unequal, upper glume <= spikelet, appressed-hairy, clearly 3--5-veined, veins minutely ridge-like; florets 2, lower floret sterile, lemma texture like upper glume, upper floret fertile, lemma +- thin, flexible, back facing away from inflorescence axis, margin flat, tip generally obtuse, awn 0; lower palea reduced or 0, the upper +- = lemma; anthers 3. Etymology: (Latin: finger, from inflorescence branch arrangement) Note:Digitaria bicornis (Lam.) Roem. & Schult., collected in 1926 in Monterey Co., and Digitaria eriantha Steud., collected in Imperial Co. in 1939, are presumed extirpated. eFlora Treatment Author: James P. Smith, Jr. Reference: Wipff 2003 FNANM 25:358--383 Unabridged Reference: Webster 1987 Sida 12:209--222
Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop.
NATURALIZED Habit: Annual. Stem: 2--7 dm; generally decumbent and rooting at lower nodes, often +- purple. Leaf: sheath 2.5--15 cm, keeled, hairy; ligule membranous, 1--3 mm; blade (2)3--10(14) cm, 3--8(14) mm wide, generally with swollen-based hairs on both surfaces. Inflorescence: +- digitate, 1° branches 4--10(13), 3--9 cm, axes narrowly winged; spikelets generally 2 per node. Spikelet: +- 2.5--3 mm, lanceolate to ovate, purple in fruit; lower glume < 0.5 mm, veinless; upper glume +- 1/3--1/2 spikelet, 3-veined; lemma of lower floret 7-veined, acuminate to acute; upper lemma 2.5--3.3 mm, leathery, often brown at maturity; upper palea texture same as upper lemma. Chromosomes: 2n=36,28,34,54. Ecology: Disturbed areas; Elevation: < 1250 m. Bioregional Distribution: CA (exc SNH, GB); Distribution Outside California: to Canada, widespread in United States; native to Europe. Flowering Time: Jun--Sep Jepson eFlora Author: James P. Smith, Jr. Reference: Wipff 2003 FNANM 25:358--383 Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Previous taxon: Digitaria ischaemum Next taxon: Dissanthelium
Botanical illustration including Digitaria sanguinalis
Citation for this treatment: James P. Smith, Jr. 2012, Digitaria sanguinalis, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=22962, accessed on May 13, 2024.
Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on May 13, 2024.
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