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GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora
Descriptions
W.D. Clayton, M. Vorontsova, K.T. Harman & H. Williamson
© Copyright The Board of Trustees, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Spartina gracilis
HABIT Perennial; culms solitary. Rhizomes elongated; scaly. Culms erect; 50–100 cm long. Leaf-sheath oral hairs lacking. Ligule a fringe of hairs; 0.5–1 mm long. Leaf-blades flat, or involute; 2–5 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface scabrous; rough adaxially; glabrous. Leaf-blade margins scabrous. Leaf-blade apex acuminate.
INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes.
Racemes 4–12; borne along a central axis; appressed; unilateral; 1.5–8 cm long; bearing 10–30 fertile spikelets on each. Central inflorescence axis 8–25 cm long. Rhachis angular; scabrous on margins; glabrous on margins; terminating in a spikelet. Spikelet packing broadside to rhachis; regular; 2 -rowed.
Spikelets pectinate; solitary. Fertile spikelets sessile.
FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets lanceolate, or ovate; laterally compressed; 6–11 mm long; falling entire.
GLUMES Glumes dissimilar; reaching apex of florets. Lower glume linear; 3–7 mm long; 0.5 length of upper glume; membranous; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Lower glume primary vein eciliate, or ciliate. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume surface glabrous, or pilose. Lower glume margins ciliolate. Lower glume apex acute; muticous, or mucronate. Upper glume lanceolate; 6–10 mm long; 1 length of adjacent fertile lemma; herbaceous; 1-keeled; 3 -veined. Upper glume primary vein eciliate, or ciliate. Upper glume lateral veins prominent (on one side). Upper glume surface glabrous, or pilose. Upper glume margins eciliate, or ciliolate. Upper glume apex acute; muticous, or mucronate.
FLORETS Fertile lemma oblong; 6–10 mm long; herbaceous; keeled; 3 -veined. Lemma midvein ciliate; hairy above. Lemma surface glabrous, or pilose. Lemma margins ciliolate. Lemma apex obtuse. Palea 2 -veined.
FLOWER Lodicules absent. Anthers 3; 2.5–5 mm long.
DISTRIBUTION North America: Subarctic, western Canada, eastern Canada, northwest USA, north-central USA, southwest USA, and south-central USA.
NOTES Cynodonteae. Mobberley 1993.
Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.
