Amelichloa

Arriaga & Barkworth
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 24. Treatment on page 181.
 TaxonIllustrator 
FNA24 P71 Amelichloa pg 183.jpegAmelichloa brachychaeta
Amelichloa caudata
Amelichloa clandestina
Cindy Roché
Cindy Roché
Cindy Roché

Plants perennial; cespitose. Culms erect, with 2-3 nodes, not branching at the upper nodes; basal branching intravaginal; prophylls concealed by the leaf-sheaths, winged over the keels, apices bifid, teeth 0.5-3.5 mm. Leaves mostly basal; sheaths open, smooth, glabrous; cleistogenes often present, spikelets of cleistogenes 0.5-1 mm long, with thin glumes shorter than the florets, florets unawned or with reduced awns; auricles absent; ligules scarious, rounded to acute, ciliate; blades stiff, involute, apices stiff, brown, sharply pointed, blades of the flag leaves 5-13 cm long, bases similar in width to the top of the sheaths. Inflorescences panicles, the main panicle terminal, apparently wholly chasmogamous. Spikelets with 1 floret; disarticulation above the glumes, beneath the floret. Glumes exceeding the floret, acute to acuminate, 1-5-veined; florets fusiform, terete; calluses antrorsely strigose, blunt; lemmas pubescent, often more densely and/or more persistently so over the midvein and lateral-veins, hairs on the proximal portion about 0.7-2 mm, hairs on the distal portion often longer; crowns not developed; awns once or twice-geniculate, scabrous, persistent; paleas 3/4 as long as to almost equaling the lemmas, flat, hairy, hairs 0.2-1 mm, veins terminating at or near the apices, apices similar in texture to the body; lodicules 3; anthers 3, anthers sometimes all of equal size and more than 2 mm, sometimes 1 longer than 2 mm and 2 much shorter, sometimes all shorter than 2 mm; ovaries glabrous; styles with 2 branches, united at the base, stigmas plumose. Caryopses obovoid, with 3 smooth, longitudinal ribs at maturity, stylar bases 1-2 mm, persistent, sometimes eccentric; hila linear, about as long as the caryopses. x = unknown.

Discussion

Amelichloa includes five species, four of which are South American. The fifth species, A. clandestina, grows in northern Mexico. Two species are established in the Flora region. A third species, A. caudata. was found on ballast dumps near Portland, Oregon, at the turn of the twentieth century; it is not established in the region.Cattle avoid species of Amelichloa because of their sharply pointed leaves. This means that any of the species could become a serious problem in rangelands. Mowing favors their establishment and spread because it does not eliminate, and may disperse, the cleistogenes. The species are eaten by goats.

Key

1 Mature caryopses with inclined, eccentric stylar bases; lemmas glabrous or hairy between the lateral and marginal veins, glabrous between the midvein and the lateral vein, even at the base Amelichloa caudata
1 Mature caryopses with erect, usually centric stylar bases; proximal 1/2 of the lemmas pubescent between the lateral and marginal veins, at least initially, usually also between the midvein and lateral veins. > 2
2 Florets 4-5.5 mm long; ligules 0.2-0.6 mm long; anthers 2-3 mm long Amelichloa brachychaeta
2 Florets 5.5-8 mm long; ligules 0.5-1.5 mm long; anthers 3-4 mm long Amelichloa clandestina

"decumbent" is not a number."prolonged" is not a number.

... more about "Amelichloa"
membranous +  and scarious +
2 +, 1 +  and 3 +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
pointed +
Mirta O. Arriaga +
Arriaga & Barkworth +
twisted +  and not branched +
1 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
subterminal +  and eccentric +
reduced +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br />) +
keeled +  and rounded +
pseudopetiolate +  and branching +
intravaginal +, extravaginal +, branching +  and basal +
swelling +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (13 cm130 mm <br />0.13 m <br />) +
not evident +
cross +, linear +  and narrowly lanceolate +
spikelike +
well-developed +
branching +  and not branching +
perennial +  and annual +
intravaginal +  and basal +
not woody +
0 +  and 1/3 +
liquid +, soft +  and hard +
capillary +
pistillate +  and staminate +
sometimes longer +
terete +  and fusiform +
1-10-veined +
subtending +
acute +  and acuminate +
membranous +
uncinate +
0.02 cm0.2 mm <br />2.0e-4 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
solid +  and hollow +
basally concentrated +  and evenly distributed +
ovate +, rectangular +  and lanceolate +
membranous +  and coriaceous or indurate +
rounded +  and acute +
inconspicuous +
lanceolate +
fleshy +  and membranous +
concealed +  and prominent +
2 +  and 3 +
2 +  and 1 +
well-developed +
reduced +
dry +  and fleshy +
not prolonged +
caro1971a +  and torres1993b +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
1 +  and 60 +
unisexual +  and bisexual +
laterally compressed +  and terete +
1 +  and 3 +
simple +  and compound +
2 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
plumose +
Gramineae +
Amelichloa +
Poaceae tribe Stipeae +
membranous +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br />) +
inconspicuous +
plant +  and cespitose +
aquatic +  and terrestrial +
12 +, 11 +, 10 +, 8 +  and 7 +