Briza maxima

L.
Common names: Big quakinggrass
Introduced
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 24. Treatment on page 614.

Plants annual. Culms 20-80 cm. Leaves evenly distributed; sheaths frequently less than 1/2 as long as the internodes, open to near the base, margins overlapping; ligules 3-7 mm, sides sometimes decurrent, margins entire to erose, acute; blades 2.5-20 cm long, 2-8 mm wide, margins strigose or glabrous. Panicles 3.5-10 cm long, mostly 1-5 cm wide; pedicels 5-20 mm. Spikelets 10-20 mm, oval to elliptic, with 4-12 (15) florets. Lower glumes 5-5.5 mm, 5-veined; upper glumes 6-6.5 mm, 7-veined; lowermost lemmas 7-9 mm, 7-9-veined, surfaces usually glabrous proximally, becoming villous distally, apices obtuse; paleas about 4 mm, more or less ciliolate along the margins; anthers 1.2-1.5 mm. Caryopses 2-3 mm, obovoid. 2n = 10, 14.

Distribution

N.J., Colo., N.Y., Calif., Mich., Wis., Alta., B.C., Ont., Que., Pacific Islands (Hawaii), Vt., Ill., Ga., Oreg.

Discussion

Briza maxima is native to the Mediterranean region. Cultivated as an ornamental, it is possibly one of the earliest grasses grown for other than edible purposes. It occasionally becomes naturalized in dry to somewhat moist but well-drained, fine or sandy soil on banks, rocky places, open woodlands, and cultivated areas such as roadsides and pastures. In the Flora region, it is known from scattered locations, mostly in Oregon and California, where it is an invader of coastal dune habitat.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"decumbent" is not a number.

... more about "Briza maxima"
membranous +  and scarious +
0.12 cm1.2 mm <br />0.0012 m <br /> (0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br />) +
Neil Snow +
1 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
straight +
basal +  and terminal +
rounded +
pseudopetiolate +  and branching +
overlapping +
intravaginal +, extravaginal +, branching +  and basal +
swelling +
2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br /> (20 cm200 mm <br />0.2 m <br />) +
not evident +
cross +, linear +  and narrowly lanceolate +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
capillary +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (?) +
Big quakinggrass +
20 cm200 mm <br />0.2 m <br /> (80 cm800 mm <br />0.8 m <br />) +
not woody +
N.J. +, Colo. +, N.Y. +, Calif. +, Mich. +, Wis. +, Alta. +, B.C. +, Ont. +, Que. +, Pacific Islands (Hawaii) +, Vt. +, Ill. +, Ga. +  and Oreg. +
1/4 +  and 1/3 +
liquid +, soft +  and hard +
capillary +
pistillate +  and staminate +
sometimes longer +
4 +  and 12 +
sterile +  and bisexual +
compressed +
reduced +
shorter than to longer than the adjacent lemmas +
shorter or longer +
subtending +
cordate +  and naviculate +
subequal +
uncinate +
Round (?) +  and Elliptic (?) +
distributed +
1-7(9)-veined +
long +  and longer +
inflated +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
free +  and joined +
inconspicuous +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.55 cm5.5 mm <br />0.0055 m <br />) +
entire +  and erose +
perpendicular +
glabrous +  and strigose +
membranous +
concealed +  and prominent +
2 +  and 1 +
well-developed +
2-keeled +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (?) +
chartaceous +  and scarious +
3.5cm +  and 10cm +
spikelike +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
dry +  and fleshy +
not prolonged +
0 (?) +  and 1/2 (?) +
decurrent +
Introduced +
1 +  and 60 +
oval +  and elliptic +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
1 +  and 3 +
simple +  and compound +
2 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
villous +  and glabrous +
Gramineae +
Briza maxima +
species +
membranous +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (0.65 cm6.5 mm <br />0.0065 m <br />) +
parallel +  and converging +
stoloniferous +  and rhizomatous +
aquatic +  and terrestrial +