| Monocotyledon | Literature for Anthoxanthum odoratum
Wagner et al., 1990, 1999. |
| Poaceae -- The Grass Family | Bibliography |
| Anthoxanthum odoratum | |
Common name(s): vernalgrass, sweet vernalgrass |
| General Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Distribution | Native to Eurasia and now widely naturalized in temperate North America.In the Hawaiian Islands, naturalized on Kaua`i, O`ahu, Moloka`i, Maui, Hawai`i. | |
| Habit |
Slender perennials, forming small tufts; culms erect or spreading, 30-60 cm long, ca. 1 mm in diameter, hollow, glabrous, nodes darker than internodes, glabrous. |
|
| Leaves |
Sheaths 3-8 cm long, striate, shorter than internodes, glabrous or with weak retrorse hairs, ciliate at throat; ligule conspicuous, sometimes purple, membranous, 1.5-4 mm long; blades 5-20 cm long, 2-7 mm wide, glabrous or with scattered weak, soft hairs, conspicuously auriculate. |
|
| Flowers |
Inflorescence a spike-like, solitary, terminal, cylindrical panicle 3-8 cm long, 0.5-1.5 cm in diameter, peduncle slender, smooth, 10-35 cm long, rachis obscured by the closely imbricate spikelets, the branches very short; spikelets subsessile, lanceoloid, 6.5-10 mm long; glumes membranous, glabrous or with scattered weak hairs, first glume ovate, acute, 3.5-4 mm long, 1-nerved, scabrous on the nerve, second glume ovate, acuminate, 6.5-8.5 mm long, 3-nerved, scabrous on nerves, scaberulous between the nerves; sterile lemmas subequal, oblong, 2.5-3.2 mm long, apex bifid, brownish appressed hirsute, first lemma awned from slightly below apex, the awn straight, ca. 6
mm long, second lemma awned from near base, the awn geniculate, ca. 6 mm long; fertile floret 2-2.5 mm long, enclosed within the 2 sterile lemmas, lemma reddish to dark brown, glossy, broadly ovate, glabrous, acute; palea membranous, narrow, obtuse, ca. 1.5 mm long, wholly enclosed by the lemma. |
|
| Fruit |
Caryopsis linear, 1.3-2.5 mm long. |
|
| Chromosomes |
2n = 10, 15, 16, 20, 21 |
|
