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Taiwan Gramineae | Family List

Poaceae (R. Brown) Barnhart

Grass Family

禾本科

Authors: Chang-Sheng Kuoh

Capillipedium parviflorum var. parviflorum.
specimen

Credit: cs kuoh

  • Gramineae Adans.

    Annual or perennial herbs, rather rarely with woody perennial culms (subfamily Bambusoideae); hollow or solid, septate at the nodes. Leaves two-ranked, consisting of the sheaths, ligules and the blades. Leaf-blades mostly linear and not petiolate at base, rarely with broad blades and stipitate at base (subfamily Bambusoideae); ligules membranous or ciliate, rarely lacking (Echinochloa), leaf-sheaths clothed at the internodes. Flowers bisexual or occasionally unisexual, without distinct perianth, it representing by 2 or 3 small scales, the lodicules, rarely six or sometimes absent; stamen mostly 3, rarely variable numbers, with filiform filaments and 2-celled anthers; pistil 1, ovary 1-loculed, containg 1 anatropous ovule, the style with plumose stigmas. Fruit mostly a caryopsis with rich endosperm, the embryo at the base opposite to punctiform or linear hilum which facing the palea. Flowers sessile between abaxial lemma and adaxial palea, constituting a floret. One to many florets dispoded alternatly on the oppostie sides of rachilla, in addition with a pair of empty glumes at the base forming a spikelet. Inflorescence with spikelets as an unit aggregate into panicle, raceme or spikes.

    Hsu(1974) treated 5 subfamilies (excluding Bambusoideae), 27 tribes, 118 genera, 289 species, 1 subspecies, 39 varieties, and 8 forms in Taiwan.


    KEY TO THE SUBFAMILIES

    1 Culms woody, perennial; blade-base articulating from the sheath, ussually petiolate   subfam. 6. Bambusoideae
    + Culms herbaceous, annual or perennial and not woody; blade-base not articulating from the sheath.   (2)
           
    2 (1) Spikelets of one to many florets, if bearing two florets then the lower floret usually perfect; spikelets terete or laterally compressed, breaking up at maturity above the more or less persistent glumes   (3)
    + Spikelets of two florets (1 floret in Sphaerocaryum), the lower staminate or neutral, the upper mostly perfect, fertile; spikelets usually dorsally compressed, falling of entirely together with glumes at maturity; length of embryo more than 1/3 as long as the spikelet   subfam. 5. Panicoideae
           
    3 (2) Glumes usually wanting or inconspicuous; palea odd-nerved, if 2-nerved, then linear or enclosed in a sac-like lemma   subfam. 1. Oryzoideae
    + Glumes distinct; paleas 2-keeled or inconspicuous nerved   (4)
           
    4 (3) Lemmas 5- to many-nerved; blade-base devoid of long hairs; length of embryo less than 1/4 as long as the caryopsis; lodicules acute or acuminate, nerveless   subfam. 3. Festucoideae
    + Lemmas 1- to 3-nerved, or nearly nerveless; blade-base ususally with long hairs, length of embryo more than 1/3 as long as the caryopsis; lodicules truncate, nerved.   (5)
           
    5 (4) Lemmas distinctly nerved; spikelets nearly terete, laterally compressed; usually a tall reed   subfam. 2. Arundinoideae
    + Lemmas faintly nerved; spikelets compressed; small to medium sized grasses   subfam. 4. Eragrostioideae

    List of Keys

  • List of lower taxa


     

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