Family: Poaceae |
Mary E. Barkworth Plants annual or perennial; synoecious. Culms 6–200 cm, sometimes woody, erect to decumbent, sometimes branched above the base, usually pubescent; basal branchingintravaginal. Leaves basal or basal and cauline; sheaths terete, open; auricles present, often ciliate; ligules 0.5–3 mm, truncate, membranous or of hairs; blades linear to lanceolate, sometimes disarticulating from the sheaths. Inflorescences racemes or panicles; primary branches spreading to ascending; disarticulation above the glumes, not between the florets. Spikelets 2–17 mm, solitary, pedicellate, terete or laterally compressed, with 3 florets, lower 2 florets sterile, at least the upper equaling or exceeding the distal floret, distal floret bisexual. Glumes from about 1/2 as long as to exceeding the florets, (3)5–7-veined. Sterile florets consisting only of lemmas; sterile lemmas firmer than the glumes, glabrous or pubescent, stipitate or non-stipitate, smooth to rugose, unawned or awned, lowest lemma often with lateral earlike appendages at the base, upper lemma subequal to or longer than the distal floret. Bisexual florets: lemmas often indurate at maturity, glabrous, 5–7-veined, keeled, unawned, sometimes mucronate; paleas thinner than the lemmas, 1–2(5)-veined; anthers (1–5)6, yellow; styles 2, fused or free to the base, white or brown. Caryopseslaterally compressed. x = 12. Named for Jakob Friedrich Ehrhart (1742–1795), a German botanist of Swiss origin who studied under Linnaeus. Ehrharta is a genus of approximately 25 species, most of which are native to southern Africa. Three species, all from southern Africa, are established in California. SELECTED REFERENCES Gibbs Russell, G.E. 1991. Ehrharta Thunb. Pp. 121–129 in G.E. Gibbs Russell, L. Watson, M. Koekemoer, L. Smook, N.P. Barker, H.M. Anderson, and M.J. Dallwitz. Grasses of Southern Africa (ed. O.A. Leistner). National Botanic Gardens, Botanical Research Institute, Pretoria, Republic of South Africa. 437 pp.; Gibbs Russell, G.E. and R.P. Ellis. 1987. Species groups in the genus Ehrharta (Poaceae) in southern Africa. Bothalia 17:51–65; Jacobs, S.W.L. and S.M. Hastings. 1993. Ehrhata. Pp. 652–654 in G.J. Harden (ed.). Flora of New South Wales, vol. 4. New South Wales University Press, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia. 775 pp. T.A. Cope (1995) Ehrharta Plants annual or perennial. Glumes minute to large; sterile lemmas often transversely wrinkled, the lower subequal to the upper or shorter, upper sterile lemmas often narrowed to a hook at the base. Ehrharta includes about 30 species, about 25 growing primarily in South Africa, the remainder extending from Indonesia to Australia. One species, Ehrharta erecta, grows in Somaliland. It is represented there by Ehrharta eracta var. abyssinica. Gibbs Russell, G.E. Ehrharta Thunb. Pp. 121–129 in G.E. Gibbs Russell, L. Watson, M. Koekemoer, L. Smook, N.P. Barker, H.M. Anderson, and M.J. Dallwitz. Grasses of Southern Africa (ed. O.A. Leistner). National Botanic Gardens, Botanical Research Institute, Pretoria, Republic of South Africa. 437 pp. Gibbs Russell, G.E. & R.P. Ellis. 1987. Species groups in the genus Ehrharta (Poaceae) in southern Africa. Bothalia 17:51–65.> Jacobs, S.W.L.. 1993. Ehrhata. Pp. 652–in G.J. Harden (ed.). of New South Wales, Global distribution of Ehrharta. Note: GBIF records include introduced and cultivated plants. Consequently, the distribution shown often differs from statements about a taxon's native distribution. |