Schismus barbatus

(Loefl. ex L.) Thell.
Common names: Common mediterranean grass
Introduced
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 25. Treatment on page 307.

Plants annual. Culms 6-27 cm. Ligules 0.3-1.1 mm, of hairs; blades 3-15 cm long, 0.3-1.5 mm wide, abaxial surfaces glabrous or scabrous, adaxial surfaces scabrous, sparsely long-pubescent near the ligules. Panicles 1-6(7.5) cm. Spikelets 4.5-7 mm. Lower glumes 4-5.2 mm, exceeded by the distal florets; upper glumes 4-5.3 mm; lemmas 1.5-2(2.5) mm, with sparse, appressed pubescence between the veins, or glabrous and with spreading hairs on the margins, lobes as wide as or wider than long, acute to obtuse; paleas 1.7-2.2(2.6) mm, those of the lower florets in the spikelets as long as or longer than the lemmas; anthers 0.2-0.4 mm. Caryopses 0.6-0.8 mm. 2n = 12.

Distribution

N.Mex., Tex., Utah, Calif., Ariz., Nev.

Discussion

Schismus barbatus is native to Eurasia, but it is now established in the southwestern United States. It grows in sandy, disturbed sites along roadsides and fields and in dry riverbeds.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.