Aristida desmantha

Trin. & Rupr.
Common names: Curly threeawn
Endemic
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 25. Treatment on page 319.

Plants annual. Culms (30) 45-80 cm, branching at the lower nodes, often diffusely so; nodes and internodes glabrous. Leaves cauline; sheaths shorter or slightly longer than the internodes, glabrous or with straight hairs, sometimes pilose-floccose; collars glabrous or pilose at the sides; ligules about 0.5 mm; blades (6) 10-20 cm long, 1-2 (3) mm wide, yellow-green, turning reddish late in the season, involute to loosely folded, abaxial surfaces smooth or scabrous near the base, sometimes pubescent distally, adaxial surfaces usually glabrous, sometimes scabrous or pubescent, lateral-veins about twice as thick as the inner veins. Inflorescences paniculate, 10-20 cm long, 2-7 cm wide; rachis nodes glabrous; primary branches stiffly ascending, with axillary pulvini, with 3-9 spikelets. Spikelets in fan-shaped clusters, pedicels with axillary pulvini. Glumes 10-17 mm, about equal, light to dark-brown, glabrous or rarely sparsely pilose, 1-veined, apices cleft and awned, awns 2-5 mm; calluses 1-2.5 mm; lemmas 7-10 mm, gray to light-brown, narrowing to a 2-5 (7) mm beak, junction of the lemma and awns evident; awns 20-28 mm, similar in length, curved to strongly arcuate near the base, not forming a column, straight and divergent distally, disarticulating at maturity; anthers 3, 1-2 mm, dark purple. Caryopses 7-8 mm, smooth, chestnut-brown. 2n = unknown.

Distribution

Okla., Tex., La., Mo., Nebr., Wis., Kans., Ark., Ill.

Discussion

Aristida desmantha grows in sandy fields, dry pine woods, and waste places in the United States. It is generally similar to A. tuberculosa, but has shorter glumes, calluses, and awns.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"decumbent" is not a number.

... more about "Aristida desmantha"
pubescent +, scabrous +  and smooth +
pubescent +, scabrous +  and glabrous +
dark purple +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
awned +  and cleft +
Kelly W. Allred +
Trin. & Rupr. +
disarticulating +
1 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
not straight +, curved +  and strongly arcuate +
ascending +  and spreading +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (2.8 cm28 mm <br />0.028 m <br />) +
keeled +  and rounded +
coiled +, disarticulating +  and twisted +
intravaginal +, extravaginal +, branching +  and basal +
swelling +
7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br /> (?) +
straight +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
reddish +  and yellow-green +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (20 cm200 mm <br />0.2 m <br />) +
involute +  and loosely folded +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
spikelike +
well-developed +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br />) +
chestnut-brown +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
non-radiate +  and radiate +
pilose +  and glabrous +
Curly threeawn +
45 cm450 mm <br />0.45 m <br /> (80 cm800 mm <br />0.8 m <br />) +
not woody +
Okla. +, Tex. +, La. +, Mo. +, Nebr. +, Wis. +, Kans. +, Ark. +  and Ill. +
large +  and small +
capillary +
germination +
pistillate +  and staminate +
sometimes longer +
compressed +  and terete +
light +  and dark-brown +
subtending +
pilose +  and glabrous +
acute +  and acuminate +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (1.7 cm17 mm <br />0.017 m <br />) +
straight +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (?) +  and 20 cm200 mm <br />0.2 m <br /> (?) +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br />) +
2 times as thick as the inner veins +
gray +  and light-brown +
scabridulous +
fusiform +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
coriaceous +
narrowing +
indistinguishable +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (?) +
inconspicuous +
concealed +  and prominent +
2 +  and 1 +
concealing +
0 +  and 1/2 +
dry +  and fleshy +
divaricate +  and divergent +
not prolonged +
slightly longer +
pilose-floccose +, with straight hairs +  and glabrous +
1 (?) +  and Anatomy (?) +
1 +  and 3 +
triangular +  and dome--shaped +
2 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
Gramineae +
Aristida desmantha +
Aristida +
species +
membranous +
aquatic +  and terrestrial +