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You can view and copy the source of this page. {{Treatment/ID |accepted_name=Poaceae |accepted_authority=Barnhart |publications= |common_names=Grass Family |basionyms= |synonyms={{Treatment/ID/Synonym |name=Gramineae |authority=Adans. |rank=family }} |hierarchy=Poaceae |hierarchy_nav=<div class="higher-taxa"><div class="higher-taxon"><small>family</small>[[Poaceae]]</div></div> |volume=Volume 24 |mention_page= |treatment_page=page 3 }}<!-- --><span class="statement" id="st-d0_s0" data-properties=""><b>Plants </b>annual or perennial;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s1" data-properties="">usually terrestrial, sometimes aquatic;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s2" data-properties="whole_organism duration;whole_organism duration;whole_organism growth form or habitat;whole_organism growth form or habitat;whole_organism arrangement or pubescence;whole_organism growth form;whole_organism growth form;whole_organism growth form;culm architecture or arrangement or growth form;rhizom architecture or arrangement or growth form;stolon development">tufted, mat-forming, cespitose, pluricespitose, or with solitary culms (flowering-stems), rhizomes and stolons often well developed.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s3" data-properties="culm duration;culm duration;culm texture;culm texture;culm orientation;culm orientation;culm length;culm length;culm growth form;culm growth form or location"><b>Culms </b>annual or perennial, herbaceous or woody, usually erect or ascending, sometimes prostrate or decumbent for much of their length, occasionally climbing, rarely floating;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s4" data-properties="node prominence;node prominence">nodes prominent, sometimes concealed by the leaf-sheaths;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s5" data-properties="internode architecture;internode architecture">internodes hollow or solid, bases meristematic;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s6" data-properties="">branching from the basal nodes only or from the basal, middle, and upper nodes;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s7" data-properties="">basal branching extravaginal or intravaginal;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s8" data-properties="base architecture;base position;base position;base position;base position;base position;base architecture;upper node position;upper node position">branching from the upper nodes intravaginal, extravaginal, or infravaginal.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s9" data-properties="leaf arrangement;leaf arrangement"><b>Leaves </b>alternate, 2-ranked, each composed of a sheath and blade encircling the culm or branch;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s10" data-properties="sheath architecture;sheath condition;margin fusion">sheaths usually open, sometimes closed, the margins fused for all or part of their length;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s11" data-properties="auricle presence">auricles (lobes of tissue extending beyond the margins of the sheaths on either side) sometimes present;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s12" data-properties="ligule presence;abaxial ligule quantity;abaxial ligule texture;abaxial ligule architecture or pubescence or shape;adaxial ligule presence;tissue texture;tissue coloration;membrane architecture or pubescence or shape">ligules usually present at the sheath-blade junction, particularly on the adaxial surface, abaxial ligules common in the Bambusoideae, membranous, sometimes ciliate, adaxial ligules usually present, of membranous to hyaline tissue, a line of hairs, or a ciliate membrane;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s13" data-properties="blade shape;blade shape;base architecture;base arrangement;base arrangement;cross-vein prominence">blades usually linear to lanceolate, occasionally ovate to triangular, bases sometimes pseudopetiolate (having a petiolelike constriction), venation usually parallel, sometimes with evident cross-veins, occasionally divergent.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s14" data-properties="inflorescence architecture;aggregation architecture;aggregation architecture;primary inflorescence architecture;primary inflorescence architecture;aggregation arrangement;aggregation architecture;aggregation arrangement;aggregation arrangement;branch shape;rachis prominence"><b>Inflorescences </b>(synflorescences) usually compound, composed of simple or complex aggregations of primary inflorescences, aggregations paniculate, spicate, or racemose or of spikelike branches, often with an evident rachis (central axis), primary inflorescences spikelets, pseudospikelets, or spikelet equivalents;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s15" data-properties="bract prominence">inflorescence branches usually without obvious bracts.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s16" data-properties="spikelet quantity;spikelet fixation;glume atypical quantity;glume quantity;glume position"><b>Spikelets </b>with (0-1) 2 (3-6) glumes (empty bracts) subtending 1-60 florets, glumes and florets distichously attached to a rachilla (central axis);</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s17" data-properties="">pseudospikelets with bud-subtending bracts below the glumes.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s18" data-properties="glume architecture or shape"><b>Glumes </b>usually with an odd number of veins, sometimes awned.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s19" data-properties="floret reproduction;floret architecture;floret architecture;floret architecture;floret architecture;floret shape;floret shape"><b>Florets </b>bisexual, staminate, or pistillate, usually composed of a lemma (lower bract) and palea (upper bract), lodicules, and reproductive organs, often laterally or dorsally compressed, sometimes round in cross-section;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s20" data-properties="lemma architecture or shape;base width;base texture;back shape;back shape;awn atypical quantity;awn quantity;awn orientation">lemmas usually with an odd number of veins, often awned, bases frequently thick and hard, forming a callus, backs rounded or keeled over the midvein, awns usually 1 (-3), arising basally to terminally;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s21" data-properties="palea shape;vein quantity;vein size;vein presence;between vein vein quantity;between vein vein quantity;vein size;vein size">paleas usually with 2 major veins, with 0 to many additional veins between the major veins, sometimes also in the margins, often keeled over the major veins;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s22" data-properties="lodicule atypical quantity;lodicule quantity;lodicule prominence;base size">lodicules (0) 2-3, inconspicuous, usually without veins, bases swelling at anthesis;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s23" data-properties="stamen quantity;stamen quantity;stamen atypical quantity;stamen quantity;filament shape;anther fixation;anther variability;anther length or size;floret length or size;other quantity;other quantity">stamens usually 3, sometimes 1 (2) or 6+, filaments capillary, anthers versatile, usually all alike within a floret, sometimes 1 or 2 evidently longer than the others;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s24" data-properties="ovary architecture;style atypical quantity;style atypical quantity;style quantity;style-branch atypical quantity;style-branch atypical quantity;style-branch quantity;stigmatic region shape">ovaries 1-loculed, with (1) 2-3 (4) styles or style-branches, stigmatic region usually plumose.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s25" data-properties="pericarp condition or texture;pericarp texture;pericarp texture;pericarp arrangement"><b>Fruits </b>caryopses, pericarp usually dry and adhering to the seed, sometimes fleshy or dry and separating from the seed at maturity or when moistened;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s26" data-properties="embryo variability;caryopse variability">embryos ⅕ as long as to almost equaling the caryopses, highly differentiated with a scutellum (absorptive organ), a shoot with leaf primordium covered by the coleoptile (shoot sheath), and a root covered by the coleorhiza (root sheath);</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s27" data-properties="">hila punctate to linear.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s28" data-properties="hilum coloration or relief;hilum arrangement or course or shape;x chromosome quantity;x chromosome quantity;x chromosome quantity;x chromosome quantity;x chromosome quantity;x chromosome quantity;x chromosome quantity">x = 5,6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12.</span><!-- -->{{Treatment/Body |discussion=<p>The Poaceae or grass family includes approximately 700 genera and 11,000 species (Chen et al. 2006). The two grass volumes in this series treat 10 subfamilies, 25 tribes, 236 genera, and 1373 species. Of these, all the subfamilies, 22 tribes, 136 genera, and 892 species are native to the Flora region; 2 tribes, 78 genera, and 290 species have become established in the region. The remaining taxa include ornamental species; species grown for research purposes; species that, if introduced to the region, would pose a threat to important agricultural species; and a few waifs, i.e., species that have been found in the region but have not become established. Most of the waifs are species that were found on ballast dumps near ports around the turn of the last century.</p><!-- --><p>Grasses constitute the fourth largest plant family in terms of number of species. Nevertheless, the family is clearly more significant than any other plant family in terms of geographic, ecological, and economic importance. Grasses grow in almost all terrestrial environments, including dense forests, open deserts, and freshwater streams and lakes. There are no truly marine grasses, but some species grow within reach of the highest tides.</p><!-- --><p>In addition to being widely distributed, grasses are often dominant or co-dominant over large areas. The importance of such areas to humans is reflected in the many words that exist for grasslands, words such as meadow, palouse, pampas, prairie, savanna(h), steppe, and veldt. Not surprisingly, given their abundance and prevalence, grasses are of great ecological importance as soil stabilizers and as providers of shelter and food for many different animals.</p><!-- --><p>The economic importance of grasses to humans is almost impossible to overestimate. The wealth of individuals and countries is dependent on the availability of such sources of grain as Triticum (wheat), Oryza (rice), Zea (corn or maize), Hordeum (barley), Avena (oats), Secale (rye), Eragrostis (tef), and Zizania (wild rice). Most countries invest heavily in research programs designed to develop better strains of these grasses and the many other grasses that are used for livestock, soil stabilization, and revegetation. Developing improved grasses for recreation areas, such as playing fields, golf courses, and parks, is also a major industry in many parts of the world; increasing recognition of the aesthetic value af grasses is reflected in their prominence in horticultural catalogs.</p><!-- --><p>There are, of course, grasses that are considered undesirable, at least in some parts of the world, but even the most obnoxious grasses may be well-regarded over a portion of their range. For instance, Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass) is a noxious, fire-prone invader of western North American ecosystems; it is also welcomed as a source of early spring feed in some parts of the Flora region. Cynodon dactylon (bermudagrass) is listed as a noxious weed in some jurisdictions; in others it is valued as a lawn grass.</p><!-- --><p>Although grasses are widespread and often dominant in open areas, all evidence points to an origin of the family in forests, most likely in the Southern Hemisphere, at least 55-70 mya (Grass Phylogeny Working Group 2001). Recent evidence from phytoliths (isolated silica bodies commonly produced inside the epidermal cells of grasses and some other plants) embedded in fossil coprolites strongly suggests that grasses evolved earlier in the Cretaceous than previously thought (Prasad et al. 2005). Living representatives of the three earliest lineages of the grass family, together comprising about 30 species, are perennial, broad-leaved plants of relatively small stature, native to tropical or subtropical forests in South America, Africa, southeast Asia, some Pacific Islands, and northern Australia. The major diversification of the family probably occurred in the mid-Cenozoic, and was associated with climatic changes that produced more open habitats. All major lineages of the grass family were present by the middle of the Miocene (Jacobs et al. 1999), and C4 photosynthesis in grasses had evolved by then, as well.</p><!-- --><p>Molecular and morphological data unequivocally support a single origin for the Poaceae (Grass Phylogeny Working Group 2001). The caryopsis, a single-seeded, usually dry and indehiscent fruit with the pericarp usually strongly adherent to the seed, and the laterally positioned, highly differentiated embryo are unique to grasses. Beyond the three early-diverging lineages (Anomochlooideae Potztal, Pharoideae, and Puelioideae L.G. Clark et al.), the great diversity of grasses can be divided into two major lineages: the BEP clade (Bambusoideae, Ehrhartoideae, and Pooideae); and the PACMCAD clade (Panicoideae, Arundinoideae, Chloridoideae, Micrairoideae Pilger, Centothecoideae, Aristidoideae, and Danthonioideae, i.e., the PACCAD clade of volume 25 plus the Micrairoideae, support for recognition of which was obtained after publication of that volume). Relationships among the BEP grass lineages remain uncertain, and some evidence points to the Pooideae as being more closely related to the PACMCAD clade than to the Bambusoideae or Ehrhartoideae. The PACMCAD clade includes all known C4 or warm-season grasses.</p><!-- --><p>The closest relatives of the Poaceae lie within a group of six families, all native primarily to the Southern Hemisphere: Joinvilleaceae Toml. & A.C. Sm., Ecdeiocoleaceae D.F. Cutler &c& Airy Shaw, Restionaceae R. Br., Centrolepidaceae Endl., Anarthriaceae D.E Cutler &c& Airy Shaw, and Flagellariaceae Dumort. (Poales Small, sensu stricto). Joinvilleaceae, Ecdeiocoleaceae, and Poaceae constitute a three family clade, with Ecdeiocoleaceae probably being closer than Joinvilleaceae to the Poaceae (Bremer 2000; Bremer 2002; Michelangeli et al. 2003). Rudall et al. (2005), based on a study of reproductive structures in the Ecdeiocoleaceae, suggest that the grass caryopsis may represent "one end of a transformation series embodied by the reduced gynoecial structure and indehiscent fruit of other Poales such as Flagellaria and Ecdeiocolea" (p. 1441).</p> |tables= |references={{Treatment/Reference |id=bremer2000a |text=Bremer, K. 2000. Early Cretaceous lineages of monocot flowering plants. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. [PNAS] 97:4707-4711 }}{{Treatment/Reference |id=bremer2002a |text=Bremer, K. 2002. Gondwanan evolution of the grass alliance of families (Poales). Evolution 56:1374-1387 }}{{Treatment/Reference |id=briggs2000a |text=Briggs, B.G., A.D. Marchant, S. Gilmore and C.L. Porter. 2000. A molecular phylogeny of Restionaceae and allies. Pp. 661-671 in K.L. Wilson and D.A. Morrison (eds.). Monocots: Systematics and Evolution. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria, Australia. 738 pp. }}{{Treatment/Reference |id=chen2006a |text=Chen, S.-L., B. Sun, L. Liu, Z. Wu, S. Lu, D. Li, Z. Wang, Z. Zhu, N. Xia, L. Jia, G. Zhu, Z. Guo, G. Yang, W. Chen, X. Chen, S.M. Phillips, C. Stapleton, R.J. Soreng, S.G. Aiken, N.N. Tzvelev [Tsvelev], P.M. Peterson, S.A. Renvoize, M.V. Olonova, and K.H. Ammann. 2006. Poaceae (Gramineae). Pp. 1-2 in Z.-Y. Wu, P.H. Raven, and D.-Y. Hong (eds.). Flora of China, vol. 22 (Poaceae). Science Press, Beijing, Peoples Republic of China and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. 653 pp. http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/mss/volume22/index.htm. }}{{Treatment/Reference |id=group2001a |text=Grass Phylogeny Working Group. 2001. Phylogeny and subfamilial classification of the grasses (Poaceae). Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 88:373-457 }}{{Treatment/Reference |id=jacobs1999a |text=Jacobs, B.F., J.D. Kingston and L.L. Jacobs. 1999. The origin of grass-dominated ecosystems. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 86:590-643 }}{{Treatment/Reference |id=michelangeli2003a |text=Michelangeli, F.A., J.I. Davis, and D.W. Stevenson. 2003. Phylogenetic relationships among Poaceae and related families as inferred from morphology, inversion in the plastid genome, and sequence data from the mitochondrial and plastid genomes. Amer. J. Bot. 90:93-106 }}{{Treatment/Reference |id=prasad2005a |text=Prasad, V., C.A.E. Stromberg, H. Alimohammadian, and A. Sahni. 2005. Dinosaur coprolites and the early evolution of grasses and grazers. Science 310:1177-1180 }}{{Treatment/Reference |id=rudall2005a |text=Rudall, P.J., W. Stuppy, J. Cunniff, E.A. Kellogg, and B.G. Briggs. 2005. Evolution of reproductive structures in grasses (Poaceae) inferred by sister-group comparison with their putative closest living relatives, Ecdeiocoleaceae. Amer. J. Bot. 92:1432-1443. }} }}<!-- --><div class="treatment-key"> ==Key== <div class="treatment-key-group"> <h3 class="treatment-key-header" id="key-0">Key to Tribes</h3> {| class="wikitable fna-keytable" |-id=key-0-1 |1 |Leaf blades with divergent veins; spikelets unisexual and dimorphic, the pistillate lemmas with uncinate hairs (Pharoideae; FNA 24:11) |[[Poaceae tribe Phareae|Phareae]] |-id=key-0-1 |1 |Leaf blades with parallel veins; spikelets bisexual, unisexual, or modified into plantlets, the pistillate lemmas never with uncinate hairs. |[[#key-0-2| > 2]] |-id=key-0-2 |2 |Culms perennial, woody or herbaceous, often developing complex branching systems from the upper nodes; leaves on the upper portion of the culms, or distal on the branches, usually pseudopetiolate (Bambusoideae). |[[#key-0-3| > 3]] |-id=key-0-3 |3 |Culms woody, to 30 m tall; leaves strongly dimorphic, those of the main culms (culm leaves) with expanded sheaths and often with reduced, non-photosynthetic blades, those of the branches (foliage leaves) with abaxial ligules; blades of the distal leaves not folding at night or under stress; florets bisexual; plants native or introduced, often cultivated (FNA 24:15) |[[Poaceae tribe Bambuseae|Bambuseae]] |-id=key-0-3 |3 |Culms herbaceous, to 3.5 m tall or climbing; leaves not strongly dimorphic; blades of the distal leaves often folding at night or under stress; florets unisexual; plants known only in cultivation in the Flora region (FNA 24:29) |[[Poaceae tribe Olyreae|Olyreae]] |-id=key-0-2 |2 |Culms usually annual, sometimes facultatively perennial, rarely woody, sometimes branching from the upper nodes but the branching system not complex; leaves usually not pseudopetiolate. |[[#key-0-3| > 3]] |-id=key-0-4 |4 |Spikelets almost always with 2 florets, the lower florets in the spikelets always sterile or staminate, frequently reduced to lemmas, occasionally missing, the upper florets bisexual, staminate, or sterile, unawned or awned from the lemma apices or, if the lemmas bilobed, from the sinuses; glumes membranous and the upper lemma stiffer than the lower lemma, or both florets reduced and concealed by the stiff to coriaceous glumes; rachilla not prolonged beyond the second floret (Panicoideae, in part). |[[#key-0-5| > 5]] |-id=key-0-5 |5 |Glumes flexible, membranous, the lower glumes usually shorter than the upper glumes, sometimes missing, the upper glumes usually subequal to or exceeded by the upper floret; lower lemmas membranous; upper lemmas usually coriaceous to indurate, sometimes membranous; upper paleas similar in texture; spikelets usually single or in pairs, occasionally in triplets and all pedicellate, often shortly so) (FNA 25:353) |[[Poaceae tribe Paniceae|Paniceae]] |-id=key-0-5 |5 |Glumes stiff, coriaceous to indurate, often subequal, at least 1 and usually both exceeding the upper floret (excluding the awn); both lemmas hyaline; paleas hyaline or absent; most spikelets in pairs or triplets, at least 1 spikelet in each group usually sessile; pedicels shorter or only a little longer than the sessile spikelets (FNA 25:602) |[[Poaceae tribe Andropogoneae|Andropogoneae]] |-id=key-0-4 |4 |Spikelets either with other than 2 florets or, if with 2, the lower floret bisexual or the upper floret awned from the back or base of the lemma, or the spikelets bulbiferous; glumes usually membranous; lemmas scarious to indurate; rachilla sometimes prolonged beyond the distal floret. |[[#key-0-5| > 5]] |-id=key-0-6 |6 |Spikelets with 1 floret; lemmas terminating in a 3-branched awn (the lateral branches sometimes greatly reduced); callus well developed; ligules usually of hairs, sometimes ciliate membranes, the cilia longer than the membranous base (Aristidoideae; FNA 25:314) |[[Poaceae tribe Aristideae|Aristideae]] |-id=key-0-6 |6 |Spikelets with more than 1 floret or, if only 1, the lemma not terminating in a 3-branched awn; callus development various; ligules various. |[[#key-0-7| > 7]] |-id=key-0-7 |7 |Spikelets with 1 sexual floret or the spikelets bulbiferous; glumes absent or less than ¼ as long as the adjacent floret; lower glumes, if present, without veins, upper glumes, if present, veinless or 1-veined. |[[#key-0-8| > 8]] |-id=key-0-8 |8 |Upper glumes present, 1-veined; lower glumes absent or much shorter than the upper glumes and lacking veins (Pooideae, in part; FNA 24:57) |[[Poaceae tribe Brachyelytreae|Brachyelytreae]] |-id=key-0-8 |8 |Both glumes absent or lacking veins. |[[#key-0-9| > 9]] |-id=key-0-9 |9 |Inflorescences 1-sided spikes; triangular in cross section, [Pooideae, in part; FNA 24:62) |[[Poaceae tribe Nardeae|Nardeae]] |-id=key-0-9 |9 |Inflorescences panicles; spikelets laterally compressed or terete. |[[#key-0-10| > 10]] |-id=key-0-10 |10 |Culms aerenchymatous, 20-500 cm long; plants of wet places, often emergent, sometimes floating; lemmas of the bisexual or pistillate florets 3-14-veined; paleas 3-10-veined (Ehrhartoideae, in part; FNA 24:36) |[[Poaceae tribe Oryzeae|Oryzeae]] |-id=key-0-10 |10 |Culms not aerenchymatous, 2-300 cm tall; plants of wet or dry habitats but not emergent or floating; lemmas of the bisexual or pistillate florets 1-3-veined; paleas 2-veined. |[[#key-0-11| > 11]] |-id=key-0-11 |11 |Culms 2-19 cm tall; plants of cold or damp habitats, not rhizomatous; sheaths of the flag leaves closed for at least 1/2 their length; caryopses exposed at maturity (Pooideae, in part; FNA 24:378) |[[Poaceae tribe Poeae|Poeae]] |-id=key-0-11 |11 |Culms 5-300 cm tall; plants usually of warm or dry habitats, often rhizomatous; sheaths of the flag leaves open to the base; caryopses not exposed at maturity (Chloridoideae, in part; FNA 25:14) |[[Poaceae tribe Cynodonteae|Cynodonteae]] |-id=key-0-7 |7 |Spikelets usually with more than 1 sexual floret; usually with 2 glumes, 1 or both glumes often longer than ¼ the length of the adjacent floret and/or with more than 1 vein, always longer in taxa with 1 sexual floret. |[[#key-0-8| > 8]] |-id=key-0-12 |12 |Lemmas unawned, flabellate or with (5)7-15 awnlike teeth (Chloridoideae, in part). |[[#key-0-13| > 13]] |-id=key-0-13 |13 |Plants not viscid, usually perennial; ligules present, composed of hairs (FNA 25:285) |[[Poaceae tribe Pappophoreae|Pappophoreae]] |-id=key-0-13 |13 |Plants viscid annuals; ligules absent (FNA 25:290) |[[Poaceae tribe Orcuttieae|Orcuttieae]] |-id=key-0-12 |12 |Lemmas awned or unawned, lanceolate, rectangular, or ovate, apices entire, mucronate, bilobed, or bifid, occasionally 4-lobed or 4-5-toothed, sometimes erose. |[[#key-0-13| > 13]] |-id=key-0-14 |14 |Cauline leaf sheaths closed for 1/2 their length or more; glumes usually exceeded by the distal florets, sometimes greatly so (Pooideae, in part). |[[#key-0-15| > 15]] |-id=key-0-15 |15 |Spikelets 5-80 mm long, not bulbiferous; lemmas usually awned, often bilobed or bifid, veins convergent distally; ovary apices hairy (FNA 24:193) |[[Poaceae tribe Bromeae|Bromeae]] |-id=key-0-15 |15 |Spikelets 0.7-60 mm long, sometimes bulbiferous; lemmas often unawned, not both bilobed/bifid and with convergent veins; ovary apices usually glabrous. |[[#key-0-16| > 16]] |-id=key-0-16 |16 |Lemma veins (4)5-15, usually prominent, parallel distally; spikelets 2.5-60 mm long, not bulbiferous (FNA 24:67) |[[Poaceae tribe Meliceae|Meliceae]] |-id=key-0-16 |16 |Lemmas veins 1-9, often inconspicuous, usually convergent distally; spikelets 0.7-18(20) mm long, sometimes bulbiferous (FNA 24:378) |[[Poaceae tribe Poeae|Poeae]] |-id=key-0-14 |14 |Cauline leaf sheaths open for at least 1/2 their length; glumes exceeding or exceeded by the distal florets. |[[#key-0-15| > 15]] |-id=key-0-17 |17 |Spikelets with 1 floret; lemmas terminally or subterminally awned, the junction of the awn and lemma conspicuous; rachillas not prolonged beyond the base of the floret (Pooideae, in part; FNA 24:109) |[[Poaceae tribe Stipeae|Stipeae]] |-id=key-0-17 |17 |Spikelets with 1-60 florets; lemmas unawned or awned, awns basal to terminal, if terminal or subterminal, the lemma-awn junction not conspicuous; rachillas often prolonged beyond the base of the distal floret. |[[#key-0-18| > 18]] |-id=key-0-18 |18 |Ligules, at least of the flag leaves, of hairs, a ciliate ridge or membrane bearing cilia longer than the basal ridge or membrane; leaves usually hairy on either side of the ligule; auricles absent. |[[#key-0-19| > 19]] |-id=key-0-19 |19 |Lemmas of the fertile florets with 3-11 inconspicuous veins, never glabrous, if with 3 veins, pilose throughout or with transverse rows of tufts of hair, if with 5-11 veins, the margins pilose proximally, the hairs not papillose-based; lemma apices usually bilobed or bifid and awned or mucronate from the sinus, if acute to acuminate, the lemmas pilose; awns twisted proximally (Danthonioideae; FNA 25:298) |[[Poaceae tribe Danthonieae|Danthonieae]] |-id=key-0-19 |19 |Lemmas of the fertile florets usually with 1-3 conspicuous veins, sometimes with 3 inconspicuous veins or 5-11 veins, often glabrous, if with 3 veins, usually glabrous throughout or hairy over the veins, sometimes the margins with papillose-based hairs; lemma apices acute to obtuse, bilobed, or 4-lobed, often mucronate or awned from the sinuses; awns usually not twisted. |[[#key-0-20| > 20]] |-id=key-0-20 |20 |Lemmas 1-11-veined, veins glabrous or hairy, margins without papillose-based hairs; rachillas and calluses not pilose, sometimes strigose or strigulose; basal internodes of the culms not persistent, not swollen and clavate (Chloridoideae, in part; FNA 25:14) |[[Poaceae tribe Cynodonteae|Cynodonteae]] |-id=key-0-20 |20 |Lemmas 3(5)-veined, veins glabrous, margins sometimes with papillose-based hairs; rachillas or calluses pilose or the basal internodes of the culms persistent, often swollen and clavate (Arundinoideae, in part; FNA 25:7) |[[Poaceae tribe Arundineae|Arundineae]] |-id=key-0-18 |18 |Ligules membranous, if ciliate, the cilia shorter than the membranous base; leaves usually glabrous on either side of the ligule; auricles present or absent. |[[#key-0-19| > 19]] |-id=key-0-21 |21 |Inflorescences panicles or unilateral racemes, not spikelike, without spike-like branches; spikelets solitary, the lowest 0-4 florets in a spikelet sterile or staminate, the distal florets sexual. |[[#key-0-22| > 22]] |-id=key-0-22 |22 |Spikelets with (1)2-25 bisexual florets; all lemmas similar in size and shape; glumes and lemmas membranous (Centothecoideae). |[[#key-0-23| > 23]] |-id=key-0-23 |23 |Culms 35-150 cm tall; spikelets with (2)3-26 florets, including the lowest (0)1-4 sterile or staminate florets; lower glumes (1)2-9-veined (FNA 25:344) |[[Poaceae tribe Centotheceae|Centotheceae]] |-id=key-0-23 |23 |Culms 150-400 cm tall; spikelets with 2-4 florets, including the lowest sterile floret; glumes 0-1-veined (FNA 25:349) |[[Poaceae tribe Thysanolaeneae|Thysanolaeneae]] |-id=key-0-22 |22 |Spikelets with 1 bisexual or unisexual floret; lemmas of the sterile florets usually differing in size and shape from those of the sexual floret; glumes membranous, lemmas of the sexual florets firmer. |[[#key-0-23| > 23]] |-id=key-0-24 |24 |Lemmas of the lower florets coriaceous, at least the upper exceeding the sexual floret (Ehrhartoideae, in part; FNA 24:33) |[[Poaceae tribe Ehrharteae|Ehrharteae]] |-id=key-0-24 |24 |Lemmas of the lower florets membranous, often both much shorter than the sexual floret, sometimes subequal to it, sometimes only 1 sterile floret present (Pooideae, in part; FNA 24:378) |[[Poaceae tribe Poeae|Poeae]] |-id=key-0-21 |21 |Inflorescences panicles, racemes, or spikes; spikelets sometimes in pairs or triplets, sterile florets, if any, distal to the bisexual or pistillate florets. |[[#key-0-22| > 22]] |-id=key-0-25 |25 |Lemmas with 1-3 or 9-11 conspicuous veins; sheaths open; blade cross sections with Kranz leaf anatomy (Chloridoideae, in part; FNA 25:14) |[[Poaceae tribe Cynodonteae|Cynodonteae]] |-id=key-0-25 |25 |Lemmas with (1)3-15 often inconspicuous veins, if with 3 conspicuous veins, the sheaths closed; sheaths open or closed; blade cross sections without Kranz leaf anatomy. |[[#key-0-26| > 26]] |-id=key-0-26 |26 |Inflorescences spikes or spikelike; spikelets 1-5+ per node, at least 1 spikelet sessile or subsessile (Pooideae, in part). |[[#key-0-27| > 27]] |-id=key-0-27 |27 |Upper glumes 5-9-veined; spikelets subsessile and solitary at the nodes; auricles absent (FNA 24:187) |[[Poaceae tribe Brachypodieae|Brachypodieae]] |-id=key-0-27 |27 |Upper glumes 1-5-veined; spikelets 1-5+ per node, usually at least 1 sessile at each node, sometimes highly reduced branches present; auricles present or absent. |[[#key-0-28| > 28]] |-id=key-0-28 |28 |Inflorescences with 1-5 spikelets at a node, if 3, usually with 1 sessile and 2 pedicellate spikelets, if 1, the spikelet tangential to or embedded in the rachis, with 2 glumes, the glumes facing each other; ovaries with hairy apices; auricles often present (FNA 24:238) |[[Poaceae tribe Triticeae|Triticeae]] |-id=key-0-28 |28 |Inflorescences spikelike panicles with highly reduced branches, or spikes with spikelets radial to the rachises and all but the terminal spikelet with only 1 glume, or spikes with spikelets tangential to the rachises and having 2 glumes adjacent to each other; ovaries with glabrous apices; auricles usually absent (FNA 24:378) |[[Poaceae tribe Poeae|Poeae]] |-id=key-0-26 |26 |Inflorescences panicles, with no sessile spikelets. |[[#key-0-27| > 27]] |-id=key-0-29 |29 |Caryopses with a thick pericarp forming a distinct apical knob or beak at maturity; lemmas 3(5)-veined (Pooideae, in part; FNA 24:64) |[[Poaceae tribe Diarrheneae|Diarrheneae]] |-id=key-0-29 |29 |Caryopses usually with a thin pericarp, never with a distinct apical beak or knob; lemmas 3-9-veined. |[[#key-0-30| > 30]] |-id=key-0-30 |30 |Glumes subulate, stiff; lemmas unawned or with awns to 4 mm long (Pooideae, in part; FNA 24:238) |[[Poaceae tribe Triticeae|Triticeae]] |-id=key-0-30 |30 |Glumes lanceolate, membranous; lemmas awned or unawned, awn length varied. |[[#key-0-31| > 31]] |-id=key-0-31 |31 |Rachillas hairy, hairs 2-3 mm long; lemmas coriaceous; plants established in California, sometimes cultivated as ornamentals (Pooideae, in part; FNA 24:109) |[[Poaceae tribe Stipeae|Stipeae]] |-id=key-0-31 |31 |Rachillas glabrous to hairy, hairs shorter than 2 mm; lemmas membranous to coriaceous; plants native, established, or cultivated. |[[#key-0-32| > 32]] |-id=key-0-32 |32 |Leaves to 2 cm wide, usually not conspicuously distichous; culms 0.01-2.75 m tall, usually less than 1 cm thick (Pooideae, in part; FNA 24:378) |[[Poaceae tribe Poeae|Poeae]] |-id=key-0-32 |32 |Leaves 2-10 cm wide, often conspicuously distichous; culms 2-10(15) m tall, often more than 1 cm thick. |[[#key-0-33| > 33]] |-id=key-0-33 |33 |Lower cauline blades disarticulating, upper cauline blades forming a flat, fan-shaped arrangement (Panicoideae, in part; FNA 25:352) |[[Poaceae tribe Gynerieae|Gynerieae]] |-id=key-0-33 |33 |Lower cauline blades persistent, upper cauline blades not forming a flat, fan-shaped arrangement (Arundinoideae, in part; FNA 25:7) |[[Poaceae tribe Arundineae|Arundineae]] |} </div></div><!-- -->{{#Taxon: name=Poaceae |author=Lynn G. Clark;Elizabeth A. Kellogg; |authority=Barnhart |rank=family |parent rank= |synonyms=Gramineae |basionyms= |family=Poaceae |reference=bremer2000a;bremer2002a;briggs2000a;chen2006a;group2001a;jacobs1999a;michelangeli2003a;prasad2005a;rudall2005a |publication title= |publication year= |special status= |source xml=https://bibilujan@bitbucket.org/aafc-mbb/fna-fine-grained-xml.git/src/84153f6d59a0a91d69695978a64cee7560374f8e/V24/V24_1.xml |abaxial ligule architecture or pubescence or shape=ciliate |abaxial ligule quantity=common |abaxial ligule texture=membranous |adaxial ligule presence=absent |aggregation architecture=spicate;complex;simple |aggregation arrangement=of spikelike branches;racemose;paniculate |anther fixation=versatile |anther length or size=sometimes longer |anther variability=alike |auricle presence=absent |awn atypical quantity=1;3 |awn orientation=arising |awn quantity=1 |back shape=keeled;rounded |base architecture=pseudopetiolate;branching;branching |base arrangement=divergent;parallel |base position=intravaginal;extravaginal;branching;branching;basal |base size=swelling |base texture=hard |base width=thick |between vein vein quantity=additional;many |blade shape=usually linear;lanceolate occasionally ovate |bract prominence=obvious |branch shape=spikelike |caryopse variability=equaling |cross-vein prominence=evident |culm architecture or arrangement or growth form=solitary |culm duration=perennial;annual |culm growth form=climbing |culm growth form or location=floating |culm length=decumbent;prostrate |culm orientation=ascending;erect |culm texture=woody;herbaceous |embryo variability=differentiated |filament shape=capillary |floret architecture=pistillate;staminate;pistillate;staminate |floret length or size=sometimes longer |floret reproduction=bisexual |floret shape=round;compressed |glume architecture or shape=awned |glume atypical quantity=0;1 |glume position=subtending |glume quantity=2# |hilum arrangement or course or shape=linear |hilum coloration or relief=punctate |inflorescence architecture=compound |internode architecture=solid;hollow |leaf arrangement=2-ranked;alternate |lemma architecture or shape=awned |ligule presence=absent |lodicule atypical quantity=0 |lodicule prominence=inconspicuous |lodicule quantity=2;3 |margin fusion=fused |membrane architecture or pubescence or shape=ciliate |node prominence=concealed;prominent |other quantity=2;1 |ovary architecture=1-loculed |palea shape=keeled |pericarp arrangement=separating |pericarp condition or texture=dry |pericarp texture=dry;fleshy |primary inflorescence architecture=complex;simple |rachis prominence=evident |rhizom architecture or arrangement or growth form=solitary |sheath architecture=open |sheath condition=closed |spikelet fixation=attached |spikelet quantity=1;60 |stamen atypical quantity=2 |stamen quantity=1;3 |stigmatic region shape=plumose |stolon development=developed |style atypical quantity=4;1 |style quantity=2;3 |style-branch atypical quantity=4;1 |style-branch quantity=2;3 |tissue coloration=hyaline |tissue texture=membranous |upper node position=extravaginal;intravaginal |vein presence=absent |vein quantity=2 |vein size=major;major;major |whole_organism arrangement or pubescence=tufted |whole_organism duration=perennial;annual |whole_organism growth form=plant;cespitose;mat-forming |whole_organism growth form or habitat=aquatic;terrestrial |x chromosome quantity=12;11;10;9;7;6;5 }}<!-- -->[[Category:Treatment]] Templates used on this page: Poaceae Illustrations (view source) Template:Poaceae (view source) Template:Treatment/AuthorLink (view source) Template:Treatment/Body (view source) Template:Treatment/ID (view source) Template:Treatment/ID/Synonym (view source) Template:Treatment/Reference (view source) Return to Poaceae.