Oakmead Herbarium: Poaceae, order Poales

You will not be able to identify every grass that you run through the key in this book or any other, for that matter. Let us stipulate that your unknown grass is included in the key. Here are the potential problems. Your plant is too immature or too old to show you the features used in the key, or you may have top-snatched it so that annual versus perennial or rhizomes- stolons present or absent cannot be determined. Furthermore, you are dealing with living plants that exhibit biological variation. Your plant may be unusually large or stunted, so its spikelet size does not quite fit the description; its lemmas are awned, but they are not “supposed” to be. It seems to have the characters of two species— which may very well be the case because it is a hybrid, and the family is notorious for this phenomenon. I was told a wonderful story about Agnes Chase of the Smithsonian Institution and Ledyard Stebbins of the University of California at Davis. Both were acknowledged experts on grasses. Chase is reported to have said, “Oh, Ledyard, every time you can’t identify a grass, you claim that it is a hybrid!” We also have to admit that the fault might lie with you or me. You misread the key or you were sloppy in your observations or measurements. Or I may be the culprit by constructing key steps that simply do not work properly or by describing the plants incorrectly. (James Smith, 2014, Field Guide to Grasses of California)

CONTENTS

Checklists for Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve | CCH2 = Consortium of California Herbaria = Consortium

Cyperaceae (Balboschoenus, Carex, Cyperus, Eleocharis, Schoenoplectus, Scirpus)
Juncaceae (Juncus, Luzula)
Poaceae
Typhaceae (Typha) inc. Sparganiaceae (Sparganium)

Checklists for the Santa Cruz Mountains Bioregion | CCH2 = Consortium of California Herbaria = Consortium

Carex | iNat Project Carex of San Mateo County and Santa Cruz Mountains & Journal
Cyperaceae (except Carex)
Juncaceae
Poaceae | Checklist by subfamily, tribe, genus | iNat Project Grasses of San Mateo County and Santa Cruz Mountain

Grass on the Web

Flora of North America
Grass genera of the world
Grass Phylogeny Working Group
GrassWorld
POWO Plants of the World Online
Kew GrassBase
Catalogue of New World Grasses (Tropicos)

Graminoids and grassland ecology have been an interest of the Herbarium group from its inception. Botanist John Thomas was the most prolific collector of grasses in the Jasper Ridge area with 361 sheets (and the the most prolific collector of graminoids in general with 453 sheets collected from 1955 to 1992). Local naturalist Herb Dengler also contributed substantially by his collections and field notes to the understanding of the local grass flora, as did botanist Sally Casey who annotated the Poaceae vouchers in 2000-2001. Docent Winkie Lennihan made 61 grass collections from 1980-1989, surpassed only by John Thomas and John Rawlings (203 sheets). As of 2020 the herbarium holds 704 Poaceae sheets, 82 Juncaceae sheets, and 99 Cyperaceae sheets. The first quarter century of grassland ecological studies carried out on the Preserve is summarized by Stromberg et al (2007) California Grasslands: Ecology and Management, and by Lunch (2009) Primary production at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve. Two new publications from the lab of Professor Erin Mordecai report that the disease burden faced by Jasper Ridge grasses due to pathogenic fungi depends on many of the same factors that affect disease susceptibility in humans—the background environment, proximity to infected individuals, overall pathogen burden, and even the weather; read more about the publications.

POACEAE. Grass Family

Table of C4 plants growing at JRBP (PDF)
Arrival dates of some naturalized species

Each taxon entry includes all reported locations through 2016. Each entry also links to CCH2 and Flickr photo records for more recent data. There may also be relevant Calflora records, all with coordinates.

Serpentine (prairie, chaparral, woodland, and creekside) habitats have over 200 native taxa of vascular plants. The eastern, north-facing serpentine prairie (Area H) has an excellent native bunchgrass association (Bromus carinatus, Bromus laevipes, Elymus glaucus, Elymus multisetus, Elymus x hansenii, Koeleria macrantha, Melica californica, Poa secunda secunda, Stipa lepida, Stipa pulchra). Rocky thin-soiled areas and vernally wet areas often have an association of annuals: Agrostis microphylla, Deschampsia danthonioides, Festuca microstachys (2 forms), and Scribneria bolanderi. Mesic and vernally wet sites with deeper soil also have Bromus carinatus carinatus, Elymus glaucus glaucus, Melica imperfecta, Melica torreyana, Phalaris californica californica, Danthonia californica, Hordeum brachyantherum californicum, Piptatherum Ridgetop-traversing Trail 15 through serpentine chaparral and prairie has many of the above-listed grasses plus Agrostis pallens, Bromus laevipes, Festuca californica, Trisetum canescens, all frequently growing in the scurry zone between prairie and leather-oak scrub.

The serpentine prairie's native forb dominance and native grass density, particularly in areas of deeper soil, have likely declined owing to the influx of Mediterranean annual grasses during the past 50 years. While nitrogen deposition is cited as a significant factor, the removal of cattle also contributed to the transformation, first documented in the early 1960s. (Huenneke, 1990; Weiss, 2002):

The earliest record for Lolium growing in the serpentine is in Herb Dengler’s field notes. On 19 May 1962 he writes, "Lolium -- Mediterranean grass has successfully invaded the serp this year.” Just as reported in A Flora of the Serpentine Prairie Redwood Regional Park, East Bay, California, it is also the case for Jasper Ridge: "This plant [Lolium multiflorum] is likely singlehandedly responsible for the reduction of native wildflower diversity and distribution. This vigorous competitor germinates early and quickly overtops smaller annuals competing for light and resources."
Bromus hordeaceus was present in serpentine earlier than Spring 1962 but evidently uncommon. Dengler writes in his field notes of 21 May 1974, that soft chess “. . . seems taller than I recall it ever before, reaching better than 2 ft on occasion. During grazing days [prior to April, 1960] B.m. [Bromus mollis] was rare on serpentine. Now it is abundant. Consequently wild flowers are fewer and sometimes stems necessarily longer.” McNaughton (1968) measured in 1966 species rank by above-ground biomass in four serpentine plots [Stipa pulchra 30%, Bromus hordeaceus 24.4%, and Eschscholzia californica 9%]. Hobbs et al (2007) analyzes increases and decreases of Bromus hordeaceus in serpentine for possible causes for the period 1983–2002.
The earliest record. For Brachypodium distachyon on the Preserve is June 4, 1977 by Herb Dengler “west of the lake above the beach (second year of drought)." Common and widespread by 1986.

Non-native grasses are well-represented on serpentinite substrate on the Preserve, but only Bromus hordeaceus and Festica perrenis thrive on undisturbed serpentine and can dominate the prairie both while alive and dead -- by their thatch. Most other non-natives grasses typically are restricted on serpentine to disturded roads/trails and roadsides, as well as transition zones where serpentine soil mixes with chert, greenstone, or sandstone. Bromus berteroanus is restricted to serpentine locally and is uncommon.

Subfamilies and Tribes (after FNA)

ARUNDINOIDEAE ― Arundineae: Phragmites
EHRHARTOIDEAE ― Ehrharteae: Ehrharta.
POOIDEAE ― Meliceae: Glyceria, Melica, Pleuropogon; Stipeae: Stipa (inc. Piptatherum, Nassella); Brachypodieae: Brachypodium; Bromeae: Bromus; Triticeae: Hordeum, Elymus (inc. Leymus); Poeae: Festuca (inc. Lolium, Vulpia), Dactylis, Poa, Briza, Aira, Deschampsia, Agrostis, Polypogon, Phleum, Gastridium, Cynosurus, Scribneria, Hainardia, Calamagrostis, Avena, Holcus, Arrhenatherum, Trisetum, Koeleria, Anthoxanthum (inc. Hierochloe), Phalaris.
CHLORIDOIDEAE ― Cynodonteae: Leptochloa, Eragrostis, Crypsis, Cynodon.
DANTHONIOIDEAE ― Danthonieae: Cortaderia, Danthonia.
PANICOIDEAE ― Paniceae: Digitaria, Echinochloa, Panicum, Pennisetum, Setaria, Paspalum; Andropogoneae: Sorghum
(Higher classification: FNA, v.24-25)

Key to Groups (after Field Guide to the Grasses of Oregon and Washington and Jepson eFlora)

1. Some or all florets modified into bulblets with conspicuous, awn-like tails . . . Poa bulbosa subsp. vivipara
1’ Florets not modified into bulblets
2. Pl very tough, flowering stem [culm] gen 2+ meters tall and 10+ mm diameter; infl plume-like . . . GROUP 1 (Cortaderia, Phragmites)
3. Inflorescences a spike, raceme, condensed spike-like panicle, or head; infl branches none or obscure
4. Tribe Triticeae: Inflorescence a spike or spike-like raceme with 1-5+ sessile of sub-sessile spikelets per node . . . GROUP 2a (Including Elymus inc Leymus, Hordeum, Triticum)
4’ Other tribes: Infl a raceme, condensed cylindrical panicle, or head; infl branches obscure . . . GROUP 2b
3’ Inflorescence branches a panicle, not spike-like or head-like; infl branches easily seen at arm's length
5. Infl branches spike-like, no further branching evident; inflorescences digitate, raceme-like, clustered or in whorls; spikelets sometimes paired . . . GROUP 3 (Including Cynodon, Digitaria, Echinochloa, Leptochloa, Paspalum
5’ Infl branches not spike-like, clearly panicle-like, first branches further branched, gen open; spikelets seldom paired
6. Floret 1 per spikelet . . . GROUP 4 (Including Agrostis, Calamagrostis, Stipa inc Nassella, Piptatherum)
6' Florets 2 or more per spikelet (1 or more sometimes sterile or minute) . . . GROUP 5
(Including Aira, Anthoxanthuminc Hierochloe, Arrhenatherum, Avena, Briza, Bromus, Dactylis, Danthonia, Deschampsia, Ehrharta, Eragrostis, Festuca inc Vulpia, Glyceria, Holcus, Koeleria, Melica, Poa, Trisetum

AGROSTIS

Agrostis viridis is assigned to the genus Polypogon following TJM2. The naturalized species A. stolonifera and A. capillaris can be difficult to separate, and rhizomes and stolons are often lacking on vouchers. “Agrostis is sometimes confused with . . . Calamagrostis or Polypogon. There is no single character that distinguishes all species of Agrostis from those of Calamagrostis. In general, Agrostis has smaller plants with smaller, less substantial lemmas and paleas than Calamagrostis. It differs from Polypogon in having spikelets that disarticulate above the glumes.” (FNA 24: 633).

A. avenacea J.F. Gmel. PACIFIC BENT GRASS | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
SYN ― Lachnagrostis filiformis (G. Forst.) Trin.
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
TJM2
LOCS ― Old bathing beach on the western edge of Searsville Lake
COMMENTS ― Collections by John Thomas 1979-1982; not reported since
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo | Grass Manual on the Web (FNA)
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― Ancient name for a type of grass, from Greek agron or agros, "field or pasture" / oat-like

A. capillaris L. COLONIAL BENT | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
SYN ― Agrostis tenuis Sibth.
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Jun
TJM2
LOCS ― Searsville town site (Sector 30 C4); south edge of California semaphore grass vernal pond (Sector 20 E5)
COMMENTS ― Uncommon; collected 2008-2011. Infl. branches spreading at anthesis bearing uncrowded spikelets on the distal half. “Species with awns on the lemmas frequently exhibit a developmental gradient within the inflorescence. Upper florets may possess a well-developed geniculate awn inserted at the base or on the lower half of the lemma; mid-inflorescence spikelets may have a shorter, possibly non-geniculate awn inserted high on the lemma, while basal spikelets may possess only a terminal bristle on the lemma . . . When using the key, it is advised to examine spikelets from the upper parts of an inflorescence. Many species key more than once, due to the potential for awns to be either present or absent.” (FNA 24: 633)
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― Ancient name for a type of grass, from Greek agron or agros, "field or pasture" / hair-like

A. exarata Trin. | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― May Jun Jul Aug
TJM2
LOCS ― Trail a near its intersection with Trail 1 growing with Carex barbarae; Trail 1 just east of first redwood grove; Trail 2 250 yards west of Zoology Cabin; Trail 12, Mapache Gate Tr, about 100 yards south of its intersection with Trail 10 near arroyo willow and Helenium puberulum; Trail 12 south of first footbridge
COMMENTS ― Occasional and never abundant growing in mesic areas. A perennial bunchgrass (without rhizomes or stolons) with a more and sometimes less (Lennihan 5/22/1990) dense, spike-like flower head (actually a panicle with relatively short 1-2 cm long, appressed branches) whose florets usually have awned lemmas and minute callus hairs. Alternatively the infl. gestalt could be described as narrow cylindrical. Our plants are not robust as seen on the San Mateo coast. Earliest local collections by William Dudley in 1903 “near Searsville Lake”
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― Ancient name for a type of grass, from Greek agron or agros, "field or pasture" / engraved, furrowed

A. hallii Vasey HALL'S BENT GRASS | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― May Jun Jul
TJM2
LOCS ― Typically growing at edge of scrub or woodland: Horse Trail near Escobar; north side Trail 4; blue oak woodland near Trail 3; under valley oak canopy immediately north of field station with Symphyotrichum chilense
COMMENTS ― Local plants of A. hallii and A. pallens are confluent in their characters and difficult to separate. While these rhizomatous, leafy grasses are usually easy to pick out by their relatively long cauline leaf blades and short stem internodes, determining species is another matter. Plants referred to A. hallii have generally longer lemmas, spikelets, callus hairs (1 mm or longer), and anthers (1.5-2.3 mm). Ligule length doesn't appear to be a significant character for separating our plants. A. hallii may also prefer cooler, shadier sites though A. pallens is found in similar habitat as well as xeric woodland and scrub. Collections typically lack or have poor representation of rhizomes.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― Ancient name for a type of grass, from Greek agron or agros, "field or pasture" / after Elihu Hall (1822-1882), "a farmer with a great interest in botany”

A. microphylla Steud. | NATIVE ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― May Jun Jul Aug
TJM2
LOCS ― Trail 9 at serpentine contact; Rd. F just north of its intersection with Trail 9 where serpentine soil is thin and with the other native annuals Festuca microstachys and Deschampsia danthonioides; Area C transect (Salvador) crossing Rd. F; throughout serpentine in vernally wet areas where there is little competition from soft chess and Italian rye
COMMENTS ― Look for the short grass with a dense, cylindrical flower head of single-flowered spikelets and note that this small annual superficially resembles Gastridium ventricosum with which it can grow. Armstrong & Huenneke (1993) in "Spatial and Temporal Variation in Species Composition in California Grasslands" found that Agrostis microphylla and Deschampsia danthonioides were more patchily dispersed than Vulpia microstachys. Of these three native grasses. Agrostis microphylla appeared to be most severely affected by the drought, disappearing during the first year of the drought, recurring at a much lower frequency during the relatively wet season in 1988-89, then disappearing from the transect during the drought in 1989-90. Vulpia microstachys, the most common native annual grass, increased in frequency during the study and thus appears to be the most drought tolerant of the three native annual grasses. Deschampsia danthonioides is not locally restricted to serpentine. The researchers did not record Scribneria bolanderi in their transect.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― Ancient name for a type of grass, from Greek agron or agros, "field or pasture" / small-leaved

A. pallens Trin. | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― May Jun
TJM2
LOCS ― Swale near Trail 15 in serpentine; small patch 30 yards uphill from lumber-reinforced section of Trail 5 on uphill side of trail in broadleaf evergreen forest (Sector 13 E5); abundant in several patches between old well and Escobar Gate on Trail 2 extension (Sector 35 A1); abundant under scrubby live oak at Trail 15/Trail 16 intersection (sector 34 C3); abundant along trail D uphill from Trail 8 intersection; under scrubby oaks near Trail 7/Rd. F intersection
COMMENTS ― Common in ecotones of grassland and scrub. Local plants of A. hallii and A. pallens are confluent in their characters and difficult to separate. While these rhizomatous, leafy grasses are usually easy to pick out by their relatively long cauline leaf blades and short stem internodes, determining species is another matter. Plants referred to A. pallens generally have shorter lemmas, spikelets, callus hairs (less than 1 mm), and anthers (0.7-1.8 mm). Ligule length doesn't appear to be a significant independent character for separating our plants. A. hallii may also prefer cooler, shadier sites though A. pallens is found in similar habitat as well as xeric woodland and scrub. Some early collections are top snatches and most collections typically lack or have poor representation of rhizomes.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― Ancient name for a type of grass, from Greek agron or agros, "field or pasture" / pale

A. stolonifera L. CREEPING BENT | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov
TJM2
LOCS ― San Francisquito Creek 200 yards downstream from low-flow crossing and also near Dennis Martin site; Corte Madera Creek floodplain along Leonard’s Bridge
COMMENTS ― Long runners and crowded, overlapping spikelets
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― Ancient name for a type of grass, from Greek agron or agros, "field or pasture" / bearing stolons or runners

A. viridis > Polypogon viridis

AIRA

A. caryophyllea L. SILVER HAIR GRASS | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― Mar Apr May Jun
TJM2
LOCS ― Widespread and common along trails and roads in grassland and grassy openings in woodland: Trail 9; Escobar Gate area; Rd. F in blue oak woodland; Trail 1 west of first redwoods; Rd C and D; across road from Sun Field Station visitor parking (Sector 30 B1,C1); JRGCE (Jasper Ridge Global Change) plots
COMMENTS ― Springer (1935): “Abundant on openly wooded slopes in May”
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― possibly from Latin aera for a weed among grain / probably walnut-leaved [hard to figure if etymology is correct] (Carya is hickory, but Greeks used for walnut)

ANTHOXANTHUM VERNAL GRASS, VANILLA GRASS

A. occidentale (Buckley) Veldkamp CALIFORNIA SWEET GRASS | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
SYN ― Hierochloe occidentalis Buckley
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Mar

TJM2
LOCS ― “Redwoods, Searsville, San Mateo County.” A single collection “Presented by Volney Rattan” from March, 1867
COMMENTS ― Included on Dengler’s 1975 plant list: “Plants I have seen or collected” but without date or other details and there are no other reports by other observers. Consortium records for San Mateo and Santa Clara counties
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek anthos for "flower," and xanthos, "yellow," alluding to the color of the ripened spikelets / western

ARRHENATHERUM OAT GRASS

A. elatius (L.) J. Presl & C. Presl TALL OAT GRASS | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― May Jun
TJM2
LOCS ― A single tussock at Searsville townsite a few meters west of the road (Section 30 C4) under a mature valley oak
COMMENTS ― First noted and vouchered 5/6/2006; a few plants noted in 2008 but has not spread further as of 2011
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek arrhen, "male, masculine," and ather, "a bristle," alluding to the awned staminate floret / taller, loftier, more exalted

AVENA

1. Callus glabrous; florets remaining attached at maturity; lemma glabrous or nearly so, awn of lower floret generally 0(15) mm ..... A. sativa
1' Callus bearded; florets falling singly or as a unit at maturity; lemma densely strigose or soft hairy, especially below, awned
2. Lemma bristle-tipped, teeth 2–6 mm ..... A. barbata
2' Lemma tip 2-forked, teeth <= 1.5 mm ..... A. fatua

A. barbata Link SLENDER WILD OAT | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Feb Mar Apr May Jun
TJM2 | CAL-IPC (Invasive Plant Council)
LOCS ― Path to Sun Field Station and vicinity with A. fatua; JRGCE (Jasper Ridge Global Change) plots; Main Gate on Sand Hill Road; Rd. F at Goya Gate turnoff in chert; Trail 9 in greenstone and chert (Sectors 32-33); Rd E; Rd. F in blue oak woodland; Area C transect (Salvador) crossing Rd. F
COMMENTS ― A dominant of annual grassland and probably more abundant in drier locations and in thinner soils than A. fatua, with which it commonly grows. See comments for A. fatua. Earliest Consortium record for San Mateo and Santa Clara counties is 1893
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― Latin for oats / Latin barba, "beard," barbed, bearded

A. fatua L. WILD OAT | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
TJM2 | CAL-IPC (Invasive Plant Council)
LOCS ― Path to Sun Field Station and vicinity with A. barbata; Near Sun Field Station staff parking in Santa Clara formation (Sector 21 C4); JRGCE (Jasper Ridge Global Change) plots; Main Gate on Sand Hill Road; Low-flow crossing; along Rd. F in annual grassland in chert (Sector 34); Trail b east of serpentine contact
COMMENTS ― In 1966 McNaughton (1968) measured species rank by above-ground biomass in four serpentine plots [Stipa pulchra 30%, Bromus hordeaceus 24.4%, and Eschscholzia californica 9%] and in non-serpentine plots [B. diandrus 42%, B. hordeaceus 22%, and Avena fatua 13%] wherein the Mediterranean annuals accounted for 24.4% and 77% of the above-ground biomass respectively. Some Avena fatua may have been misidentified A. barbata which is more common than A. fatua in drier habitat today; the two grasses are often found growing together. McNaughton did not deposit vouchers in the Dudley Herbarium. Earliest Consortium record for San Mateo and Santa Clara counties is 1893
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― Latin for oats / fat'ua: foolish, insipid, worthless

A. sativa. WILD OAT | ANNUAL | LIKELY WAIF
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
TJM2
LOCS ― Searsville Reservoir

BRACHYPODIUM FALSE BROME

1. Ann; spikelets laterally compressed; anthers 0.5–1.1 mm ..... B. distachyon
1' Per; spikelets ± cylindrical; anthers 3–5.5 mm ..... B. sylvaticum

B. distachyon (L.) P. Beauv. s.l. PURPLE FALSE BROME | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Brachypodieae
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― May Jun Jul Aug
TJM2 | CAL-IPC (Invasive Plant Council)
LOCS ― South side of Sun Field Station in serpentine test garden; grassy slope between Sun Field Station and Searsville Lake; JRGCE (Jasper Ridge Global Change) plots; Main Gate; along Trail 3 on ridge top; along Trail 9 in serpentine; Rd. F in blue oak woodland; Area C transect (Salvador) crossing Rd. F; Trail 15 in serpentine.
COMMENTS ― Jasper Ridge material has recently been referred to Brachypodium hybridum (personal communication Nona Chiariello). "B. distachyon is native to the Mediterranean region but has become widespread and weedy in temperate regions worldwide, spread by human movement throughout the globe. It is one of three annual species in the genus, along with Brachypodium stacei and Brachypodium hybridum. [Note that some authors (e.g., Clayton WD, Harman KT, Williamson H. GrassBase: The Online World Grass Flora. Richmond, UK: KEW) still place all three annual species into a single broadly defined B. distachyon . . .]" (Lyons C, Scholthof K-B 2015; Kellogg 2015).

Brachypodium distachyon has emerged to fill the need for a truly tractable model grass that is compatible with modern high-throughput molecular-genetic experiments. An overview of the development and widespread adoption of B. distachyon as a model grass is presented. Vogel, J.P. (2015). The Rise of Brachypodium as a Model System. In: Vogel, J. (eds) Genetics and Genomics of Brachypodium. Plant Genetics and Genomics: Crops and Models, vol 18. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/7397_2015_14

Common and widespread on and off serpentine. Purple false brome is self-pollinated, with very little outcrossing (Kellogg 2015). Like Festuca perennis it did particularly well in the long cool springs of 2006 and 2016. Recognize this annual grass by the side-to-side compressed, overlapping spikelets, their broad side toward the stem, spike-like inflorescence, and white-hairy stem nodes. First noted at JRBP June 4, 1977 by Herb Dengler “west of the lake above the beach, second year of drought.” (Dengler, H. 1984. Supplement to his 1975 "A List of Vascular Plants . . .") This grass was not included in John Thomas (1961) Flora of the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. D. Brown (1986) reported purple false brome "thoroughly covers plot #19" on sandstone derived soil in blue oak woodland [Dengler Transect 37.405266, -122.222348; 185m ele]. Earliest Consortium record for San Mateo and Santa Clara counties is 1957 (San Mateo Coast).
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek brachys, "short," and podion, "a little foot" / with two spikes ?

B. sylvaticum (Huds.) P. Beauv. | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Brachypodieae
STATUS ―Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― Oct Nov Dec
TJM2 | CAL-IPC (Invasive Plant Council)
LOCS ― Discontinuous but locally abundant, 1000s plants in 2015, south of Middle lake under willow canopy and replacing native understory of Scirpus microcarpus, Cyperus eragrostis, Persicaria punctata, ranging from Preserve boundary fence south of Caretaker’s Residence. In 2016 B. sylvaticum formed an arc about 300 m long, from the east edge of Portola Road across the willow wetland south of the section of Searsville Lake referred to as Middle Lake. The herbarium group estimated that the plants were in the thousands, organized in patches scattered through difficult to penetrate swamp and wetland. The area is inundated in wet winters. The invasion arc includes the mouth of Sausal Creek, which may have been a source (with Dennis Martin Creek as one of its tributaries). However, in 2007 a single individual of B.s. was found and removed along Portola Road, and there are now additional plants there, suggesting a second invasion route, possibly including Alambique Creek.
COMMENTS ― Thousands of plants removed from marsh area in June 2016. First report of a single plant in 2007 inside the Sand Hill Road. Fence near its west end south of the main gate. One plant discovered along Rd G in 2014; removed. This distinctive perennial forest grass has sessile spikelets, long-awned lemmas, and densely hairy nodes. It has naturalized and is locally abundant in Wunderlich Park (San Mateo County) and MPROSD Thornewood Preserve and adjacent private land. (MROSD. 2016. Ten-year Status Report and Recommended Continuation of a Slender False Brome [Brachypodium sylvaticum] Integrated Pest Management Program.)
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek brachys, "short," and podion, "a little foot" / forest

BRIZA

B. maxima L. RATTLESNAKE GRASS, LARGE QUAKING GRASS | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen (Consortium records for Jasper Ridge)
BLOOM ― May Jun Jul Aug Sep
TJM2 | CAL-IPC (Invasive Plant Council)
LOCS ― Rd C and D from dam to Rattlesnake Rocks; old picnic area above low-flow crossing; Trail 7; across road from Sun Field Station visitor parking (Sector 30 B1,C1); JRGCE (Jasper Ridge Global Change) plots; Area C transect (Salvador) crossing Rd. F; Intersection of Rd J and H; intersection of Trail 18 and Rd J
COMMENTS ― Widespread and abundant. First reported June, 1976 by Herb Dengler from the vicinity of Bear Creek. Earliest Consortium record for San Mateo and Santa Clara counties was 1956 "along Skyline Dr." (RSA119338).
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― Greek briza, a kind of rye-like grain growing in Macedonia / large

B. minor L. ANNUAL QUAKING GRASS, SMALL QUAKING GRASS | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen (many Consortium records for Jasper Ridge 1929-)
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun
TJM2
LOCS ― Ubiquitous along roads and trails in grassland and open woodland. JRGCE (Jasper Ridge Global Change) plots; Area C transect (Salvador) crossing Rd. F; tall plants in shallow ditch north side Rd J; Eleocharis wetland Tr. 12 just S of Leonard's Bridge
COMMENTS ― Springer (1935): “Very abundant in open fields and openly wooded slopes from April until late May.” One occasionally finds unusually tall plants (Thomas 22334). Earliest Consortium record for San Mateo and Santa Clara counties was 1900 "Stanford University" CAS141130
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― Greek briza, a kind of rye-like grain growing in Macedonia / small

BROMUS

1. Spikelet strongly flattened; lemma strongly keeled (sect. Ceratochloa)
2. Lemma awn 0–3.5 mm; lemma veins prominent ..... B. catharticus var. catharticus
2' Lemma awn 6–15 mm; lemma veins obscure or prominent
3. Upper glume ± = lowermost lemma; lemma 9–11-veined, gen hairy at least distally, awn 6–12 mm ..... B. catharticus var. elatus (unconfirmed report)
3' Upper glume gen < lowermost lemma; lemma scabrous or variously hairy, marginal hairs if present similar in length to those on back
4. Lemma gen uniformly hairy, occ scabrous, veins 7, obscure ..... B. carinatus var. carinatus
4' Lemma gen hairy at least distally, veins 9–11 on distal 1/2, prominent ..... B. catharticus var. elatus (unconfirmed report for JRBP)
1' Spikelet not strongly flattened, lemma rounded over midrib and not strongly keeled
5. Lemma tip conspicuously 2-toothed, teeth translucent, awn-like to acuminate, 1–7 mm; largest lemmas gen < 2 mm wide
6. Lemma awn bent and/or twisted (sect. Neobromus) ..... B. berteroanus
6' Lemma awn straight, not twisted (sect. Genea)
7. Lemma mostly > 20 mm; awn 30–65 mm ..... B. diandrus
7' Lemma mostly < 20 mm; awn 8–30 mm
8. Infl dense, branches erect to ascending ..... B. madritensis
8' Infl open, branches spreading to nodding
9. Spikelets 1(3) per infl branch; infl gen simple; branches > spikelets; lemma 13–20 mm; awn 15–30 mm ..... B. sterilis
9' Spikelets 1–14 per infl branch; infl branched 1–5 x branches < or > spikelets; lemma 9–13 mm; awn 8–18 mm ..... B. tectorum
5' Lemma tip entire or inconspicuously 2-toothed, teeth gen not translucent, 0–3 mm; largest
lemmas gen > 2 mm wide (exc in Bromus vulgaris)
10. Ann; lower glume 3(5)-veined; upper glume 5–9-veined (sect. Bromus)
11. Lemma papery, veins gen strongly raised; infl gen ± dense ..... B. hordeaceus
11' Lemma leathery, veins gen not strongly raised; infl gen ± open
12. Infl broad, spreading, some infl branches > 4 cm, 1–3 spikelets per branch; lowest lemma awn gen < other awns; spikelets 15–30 mm; 2nd lowest lemma 7.5–11 mm, glabrous or hairy, margin often broadly angled; anthers 1.3–2.5 mm ..... B. commutatus (report)
12' Infl narrow, gen unbranched, infl branches < 4 cm, 1 spikelet per branch; all awns ± equal; spikelet 11–18 mm; 2nd lowest lemma 7–9 mm, glabrous, margin often smoothly curved; anthers 1.5–3 mm ..... B. racemosus (report)
10' Per, bases fibrous, rhizomes gen 0 (sect. Bromopsis)
13. Lower glume gen 3-veined ..... B. laevipes
13' Lower glume gen 1-veined ..... B. vulgaris

B. berteroanus Colla CHILEAN CHESS | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Bromeae
SYN ― Bromus trinii Desv. var. trinii
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― Apr May
JEPSON eFlora
LOCS ― Rock outcrop adjacent to exclosure in Area H (Escobar) serpentine (Sector 34 C4); along Trail 15; along Rd. F in rocky serpentine (Sector 23 E4)
COMMENTS ― Occasional annual in serpentine and never abundant. Native status in TJM1.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek bromos, an ancient name for the oat / Chilean botanist Bertero

B. carinatus var. carinatus Hook. & Arn. CALIFORNIA BROME | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Bromeae
SYN ― Bromus sitchensis var. carinatus
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun
TJM2
LOCS ― Ubiquitous on grassy slopes, brushy areas, and woodland
COMMENTS ― Along with Elymus glaucus the most common native perennial grass in wooded areas. Lemmas are distinctly keeled, compressed side-to-side, and sheaths, blades and lemmas are conspicuously soft-hairy. Glumes are glabrous or hairy. B. carinatus has been misidentified as B. laevipes (Thomas 18740) and B. pseudolaevipes (Thomas 18740, Lennihan s.n. 4/4/1990). Lennihan s.n. 6/22/1989 from Trail 1 has lemma awns mostly 7 mm long or shorter.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek bromos, an ancient name for the oat / keeled referring to the lemmas

B. catharticus Vahl. var. catharticus RESCUE GRASS | NATURALIZED ANNUAL OR SHORT-LIVED PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Bromeae
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun Jul Aug
TJM2
LOCS ― Dry San Francisquito stream bed below Dennis Martin site marker | Near Causeway Bridge, SW corner of Searsville Lake (Sector 30 C4)
COMMENTS ― Uncommon on the Preserve; frequent in irrigated plantings on the main campus. B. catharticus presents the strongly keeled (carinate) spikelet character as B. carinatus. B. catharticus var. catharticus is a grass of disturbed places whose lemmas are never soft-hairy and awns less than 3.5 mm long. B. catharticus var. elatus, whose presence on earlier Preserve plant lists resulted from a misidentified specimen of B. catharticus var. catharticus, is another tall brome with strongly keeled lemmas that is probably naturalized in San Mateo County on disturbed sites and differs from B. carinatus by less evident characters than those of B. catharticus var. catharticus. These characters include stiffly ascending infl. branches, spikelets usually glabrous to scabrous (not soft hairy), and lemmas usually 11 to 13-veined, veins often raised and riblike (vs. 7-veined, veins not raised and riblike for B. carinatus)
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek bromos, an ancient name for the oat / purgative, cathartic

B. catharticus Vahl. var. elatus (E. Desv.) Planchuelo CHILEAN BROME | NATURALIZED ANNUAL or PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Bromeae
SYN ― Bromus stamineus Desv.
STATUS ― Rejected report
TJM2
LOCS ― 0
COMMENTS ― A misidentified specimen of B. catharticus var. catharticus is how this grass first appeared on the JRBP plant list. There is no other report; though there are a few Consortium records for the Peninsula (Belmont, Menlo Park, Skyline). See comments for B. catharticus var. catharticus
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek bromos, an ancient name for the oat / purgative, cathartic [stamineus = with prominent stamens] / tall

B. commutatus Schrad. HAIRY CHESS, MEADOW BROME | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
SYN ― Included in B. japonicus in TJM1
STATUS ― Undocumented reports
BLOOM ― May Jun
TJM2
LOCS ― 0 confirmed
COMMENTS ― Springer (1935) states hairy chess “frequent in open fields, especially near ‘civilization,’ in April and May.” It is possible that the robust form of B. hordeaceus found locally on younger sandstone substrates has been referred to this taxa (see comments for B. hordeaceus). Springer may have found hairy chess at the Ridge sensu lato outside the present-day Preserve boundaries and in areas where the author doesn't have access. Also reported for the Global Change Experiment without a voucher, referring to longer branched annual hordeaceus-like plants. There are a few Consortium records for Bromus commutatus for San Mateo Co, both for Edgewood Preserve; none for Santa Clara Co.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo (Edgewood Preserve)
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek bromos, an ancient name for the oat / changed or changing; used for a species that is very similar to one already known

B. diandrus Roth RIPGUT GRASS | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Bromeae
SYN ― Bromus rigidus Roth
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Mar Apr May Jun July Aug
TJM2 | CAL-IPC (Invasive Plant Council)
LOCS ― widespread and common, though seldom a dominant. JRGCE (Jasper Ridge Global Change) plots; Area C transect (Salvador) crossing Rd. F; annual grassland northwest of the intersection of roads G and J; old Boething Nursery growing plots
COMMENTS ― Despite major morphological differences ripgut can be mistaken at a distance for Stipa pulchra. Take a closer look. Poverty brome B. sterilis might also be mistaken for depauperate ripgut. Ripgut tolerates shade unlike many other annual bromes and occasionally there grows a form of ripgut in shady dry creek beds and elsewhere with a B. madritensis-like inflorescence of short ascending well-spaced branches (Rawlings 1083). Earliest Consortium record for San Mateo and Santa Clara counties is 1896 "San Jose"
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek bromos, an ancient name for the oat / two stamens

B. hordeaceus L. SOFT CHESS | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Bromeae
SYN ― Bromus mollis L.
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― Mar Apr May
TJM2 | CAL-IPC
LOCS ― Ubiquitous and frequently abundant in annual grassland and deeper soil portions of the serpentine prairie: along Rd. F in serpentine throughout Area C and Area H (Escobar); Area C transect (Salvador) crossing Rd. F; along Rd. F in annual grassland; around Sun Field Station; JRGCE (Jasper Ridge Global Change) plots; Main Gate on Sand Hill Road; Trail b in chert
COMMENTS ― Variation is from plants less than 10 cm tall with a few subsessile spikelets (Thomas 6654A) to robust specimens 100 cm tall with conspicuous ascending lower infl. branches much longer than the spikelets and 2-3 mm-long anthers (Thomas 11580, 23673; Rawlings 1092; Rawlings 1254). The robust form also has rachilla internodes mostly 1 mm and lemmas 8-9 mm long and exceeds species circumscription in FNA for several characters. Lemma texture and their venation, however, are typical soft chess. Occasional plants have glabrous lemmas (Rawlings 1091), however, lemma backs are distinctly nerved with ribs over the veins.
Soft chess is a major component of annual grassland and serpentine prairie on the Preserve. Springer (1935) observed that it was―as it still is―abundant in open fields and openly wooded slopes (though there less frequent). The earliest record of Bromus hordeaceus growing in the serpentine is in Herb Dengler’s fieldnotes. On May 19, 1962 he wrote, “Mediterranean grass has successfully invaded the serp this year.” Elsewhere (his fieldnotes of 21 May 1974) Dengler notes soft chess “. . . seems taller than I recall it ever before, reaching better than 2 ft. on occasion. During grazing days [prior to April, 1960] Bromus mollis was rare on serpentine. Now it is abundant. Consequently wildflowers are fewer and sometimes stems necessarily longer. In 1966 McNaughton (1968) measured species rank by above-ground biomass in four serpentine plots [Stipa pulchra 30%, Bromus hordeaceus 24.4%, and Eschscholzia californica 9%] and in non-serpentine plots [B. diandrus 42%, B. hordeaceus 22%, and Avena fatua 13%] wherein the Mediterranean annuals accounted for 24.4% and 77% of the above-ground biomass respectively. Adaptation by B. hordeaceus and other nonnative grasses significantly alters the serpentine grassland by forming dense patches within which few native species survive and leaving a persistent thatch that prevents recruitment by native species and alters the local nutrient dynamics (Hobbs et al. 1988, Huenneke et al. 1990, Weiss 1999)
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek bromos, an ancient name for the oat / hordea'ceus: having a resemblance to barley

B. laevipes Shear CHINOOK BROME, WOODLAND BROME | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Bromeae
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun Jul
TJM2
LOCS ― Trail 8; Trail 15 in serpentine (Sector 34 C3, D3); Rd D in sepentine
COMMENTS ― Common and widespread at the edge of woodland and chaparral. B. psuedolaevipes (TJM2) has also been reported but the vouchers are misidentified B. carinatus; see comments for the latter. B. laevipes has a gestalt (tall grass with crozier-like infl.) similar to B. vulgaris; the latter typically grows in more mesic habitat including redwood groves on Trail 1 and Trail 2. There is a Stebbins-reported hybrid with B. vulgaris from the Hastings Preserve in Monterey Co.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek bromos, an ancient name for the oat / polished

B. madritensis L. | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Bromeae
COMMENTS ― The separation of B. madritensis ssp. madritensis and B. madritensis ssp. rubens is not always sharp. Individual plants including some herbarium specimens display intermediate characters. Some local floras including Thomas and TJM1 used hairiness of the stem and leaf sheath; this may not prove reliable for plants at Jasper Ridge and other Bay Area locales. The above-mentioned treatments state that stems and or leaf sheaths of B. m.ssp. madritensis are [generally] glabrous to sparsely scabrous or hairy (distinguished from puberulent to densely puberulent sheaths of B. m. ssp. rubens).

FNA online:

B. madritensis: Some panicle branches 1-3+ cm long, most branches visible
B. rubens: Panicle branches 0.1-1 cm long, usually not readily visible

Jepson eFlora couplet:

B. madritensis: Infl branches occ > spikelets, shortest branch on lowest infl node 6–24 mm, longest branch on lowest node 0–1 × branched; sterile florets <= 3; infl internodes gradually reduced upwards; florets not overlapping at maturity .
B. rubens: Infl branches < spikelets, shortest branch on lowest infl node <= 6 mm, longest branch on lowest node 2–5 × branched; sterile florets 3+; infl internodes abruptly reduced upwards; florets overlapping at maturity

B. madritensis L. ssp. madritensis SPANISH BROME, FOXTAIL CHESS, MADRID BROME
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― Apr May
TJM2
LOCS ― Trail 12 in chaparral; Trail 11 in woodland; JRGCE (Jasper Ridge Global Change) plots; Rattlesnake Rocks spur road; Trail 14; Main Gate; down slope from Rd. F NW of Escobar Gate before serpentine; along fence east of Escobar Gate; Trail 9 in Buckeye Alley; disturbed area around Caretaker’s residence/Corporation Yard (Sector 29 D3); Trail c
COMMENTS ― Occasional in full sun and partial shade in various soils, seldom if ever abundant or dominant. Some panicle branches 1-3+ cm long, most visible. Occasional in shady dry creek beds grows a Brome with a robust madritensis-like infl. of short ascending well-spaced branches (Rawlings 1083); measurements of most characters fall in the small range of B. diandrus. Individuals with characters intermediate between the subspecies of B. madritensis are found on the Preserve
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo ― Grass Manual on the Web
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek bromos, an ancient name for the oat / of Madrid

B. madritensis ssp. rubens (L.) Husn. RED BROME
SYN ― B. rubens
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ―Mar Apr May
TJM2
LOCS ― Area C transect (Salvador) crossing Rd. F; herbaceous island at intersection of roads D, E, and F; Pellaea mucronata site north of Tr. 9; Occasional in and along Rd L; along brick path to field station
COMMENTS ― Occasional. Porter (1962) lists B. rubens as a typical grassland herb. B. madritensis ssp. madritensis is not on his plant list. Panicle branches 0.1-1 cm long, usually not visible resulting in a dense flowering head. Individuals with characters intermediate between the subspecies of B. madritensis are found on the Preserve
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo ― Grass Manual on the Web
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek bromos, an ancient name for the oat / red

B. racemosus L. SMOOTH BROME | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Bromeae
SYN ― included in B. hordeaceus in TJM1.
STATUS ― Undocumented report
TJM2
LOCS ― 0
COMMENTS ― There are few CCH records for this taxa from the central coast area and a single questionable record for San Mateo Co. (specimen has papery lemmas and raised veins). We have occasionally observed a form of B. hordeaceus with glabrous lemmas. These plants have papery lemmas with ribs over the lemma veins and short (1mm) anthers (Rawlings 1091; Lennihan s.n. 4/14/90). Springer (1935) wrote that smooth brome is “often found growing near [B. hordeaceus]. The distribution [open fields and openly wooded slopes -- though there less frequent], abundance, and time are about the same.” Porter (1962) listed B. racemosus as a typical grassland herb at JRBP; one doubts both Spinger and Porter and Herb Dengler's susbsequent reports of B. racemosus.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― Grass Manual on the Web
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek bromos, an ancient name for the oat / racemo'sa/racemo'sum: with flowers in racemes.

B. sterilis L. POVERTY BROME | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― Apr May
TJM2
LOCS ― Rd C downhill from the Field Station toward San Franciquito Creek; Trail 14 south of spillway; exclosures north of Field Station across road from staff parking; Rd J with Trifolium subterraneum; small patch inside Goya Gate.
COMMENTS ― Spreading along trails and roads in partial shade.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek bromos, an ancient name for the oat / sterile

B. tectorum L. CHEAT GRASS, DOWNY CHESS | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
STATUS ―Specimen
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun Jul
TJM2
LOCS ― Springer (1935) reported a single plant in April in “an open field near picnic grounds at Searsville Park.” Thomas collected cheat grass May 14, 1981 just south of Searsville Lab at edge of Searsville Lake (site of former bathing beach) and again at the same location 7/7/1983
COMMENTS ― Our assumption is that cheat grass never fully naturalized. Earliest Consortium record for San Mateo and Santa Clara counties is 1928 "Palo Alto. Embarcadero Road near City Dump" (DS581512)
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek bromos, an ancient name for the oat / relating to the roofs of houses, this was a name used by Linnaeus for various Swedish plants that grew on thatched roofs

B. vulgaris (Hook.) Shear COLUMBIA BROME | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Bromeae
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― May Jun Jul
TJM2
LOCS ― Just west of the first redwood grove on Trail 1 along San Francisquito Creek (Sector 13 B3); occasional elsewhere along trails 1 and 2; north side of San Francisquito Creek in the Zoology Cabin site redwoods (Sector 14 D3-E3); Trail 5 in mixed evergreen forest. Probably also grows along Corta Madera Creek
COMMENTS ― Similar gestalt to B. laevipes which is usually found in drier habitat. Typically has wider leaf blades than does B. laevipes. Reported by Herb Dengler in his fieldnotes 5/19/63 from the first redwood grove on Trail 1 as a “new” plant. There is a Stebbins-reported hybrid with B. laevipes from the Hastings Preserve. There are numerous Consortium records for B. vulgaris in the San Fracisquito Cr. watershed and vicinity
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek bromos, an ancient name for the oat / common.

CALAMAGROSTIS REED GRASS

1. Awn 4–5.5 mm; lf collar scabrous or smooth; rhizomes 2–6 cm, 2–4 mm thick, stout ..... C. koelerioides
1' Awn 2–4 mm; lf collar gen puberulent or hairy-tufted; rhizomes 10–20 cm, 1.5–2 mm thick, slender ..... C. rubescens

~~C. koelerioides~~ ~~Vasey | NATIVE PERENNIAL.~~ [REDETERMINED C. rubescens]
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― JROH4972 redetermined 7/15/2022 C. rubescens
BLOOM ― Jun Jul
TJM2
LOCS ―
COMMENTS ― Original ID based on a single voucher 7/15/1962; abundance not stated; no other reports of this taxa. There are a few Consortium records for SMCo and SCCo.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek kalamos, "a reed or stalk," and agrostis, "grass or weed" / like genus Koeleria

C. rubescens Buckley PINE REED GRASS | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― Aug
TJM2
LOCS ― Near intersection Tr 15 and 16 understory of Coast live oak; below trail 3
COMMENTS ― Vegetative characters: open sheath, hairy collar, rhizomes 15+ cm. long. "Calamagrostis rubescens is similar to C. koelerioides. The two have traditionally been distinguished by the presence of hairs on the leaf collars in C. rubescens, and their absence in C. koelerioides; a more reliable differentiation is the longer lemmas, glumes, and awns of C. koelerioides compared to C. rubescens."-- FNA. Common in the San Francisquito Cr. watershed in Huddart County Park.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek kalamos, "a reed or stalk," and agrostis, "grass or weed" / becoming red or reddish

CORTADERIA

C. selloana (Schult. & Schult. f.) Asch. & Graebn. PAMPAS GRASS | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
DANTHONIOIDEAE ― Danthonieae
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― Jun Jul
TJM2 | CAL-IPC
LOCS ― Trail 13 110m E of W terminus; Trail 13 220m E of W terminus; Trail 13 south of Leonard's Bridge; Trail 12 200m SE of Trail 10 intersection; Rd B east end near Preserve Boundary (10S 568683, 4140964); just above redwoods near lower terminus of Dengler transect (10S 569040, 4140414). Some plants have been mapped using Google Earth
COMMENTS ― Invasive; some removal attempts in recent years. MacDonald (1988) reports “C. selloana -- one plant of which was found and removed in 1969” (p.40). Leaf sheath hariness seems to be an unrealiable character. Pampasgrass and Jubatagrass Threaten California Coastal Habitats, WRIC Leaflet 99-1. Also discussion in Field Guide to the Grasses of Oregon and Washington, p. 50-51
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from cortadera, a native Argentinian word meaning "cutting," because of the leaf margins / named after Friedrich Sellow (1789-1831)

CRYPSIS PRICKLE GRASS

1. Sheath margins hairy ..... C. vaginiflora
1' Sheath margins glabrous ..... C. schoenoides

C. schoenoides (L.) Lam. SWAMP PRICKLE GRASS | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
CHLORIDOIDEAE ― Cynodonteae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan
TJM2
LOCS ― Middle Lake dry bed (abundant); Searsville Lake dry bed west end; Searsville Lake Old bathing beach area; along Trail 12 in dry Corte Madera streambed (Sector 40 B1); pond west of Portola Rd
COMMENTS ― Abundant in drying lake beds
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek krypsis, "hiding, suppression, concealment," from the partly hidden inflorescence / like genus Schoenus (Cyperaceae)

C. vaginiflora (Forssk.) Opiz MODEST PRICKLE GRASS
CHLORIDOIDEAE ― Cynodonteae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct
LOCS ― Dry delta of Corta Madera Creek
COMMENTS ― Single voucher 10/25/1991; no report of abundance and no other reports. Many records for Lake Lagunita on the Stanford Campus from 1928-1976
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek krypsis, "hiding, suppression, concealment," from the partly hidden inflorescence / with flowers in a sheath

CYNODON BERMUDA GRASS, DOG'S-TOOTH GRASS

C. dactylon (L.) Pers. BERMUDA GRASS | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
CHLORIDOIDEAE ― Cynodonteae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
TJM2 | CAL-IPC (Invasive Plant Council)
LOCS ― disturbed area around Caretaker’s residence/Corporation Yard (Sector 29 D3); South end of Rd B near Preserve Gate; Trail 12 in dry Corte Madera streambed
COMMENTS ― Uncommon. Arm’s-length gestalt like the Panicoid grass Digitaria sanguinalis: Cynodon is a stoloniferous perennial with sessile spikelets (vs. Digitaria, an annual w/ short-stalked spikelets). There are also CCH records for Stanford's main campus.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek meaning "dog tooth" from the hard tooth-like scales on the rhizomes or stolons / from the Greek daktylos, "a finger or toe"

CYNOSURUS DOGTAIL GRASS

C. echinatus L. BRISTLY DOGTAIL GRASS | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Jun July Aug
TJM2 | CAL-IPC (Invasive Plant Council)
LOCS ― widespread though seldom abundant in all communities except serpentine grassland and chaparral: east end of Searsville dam; Bear Creek Ridge, north terminus of Trail 12; east portion of Trail 4
COMMENTS ― tolerates partial shade, blooms later that other annuals, and seedheads persist readily identifiable into next flowering season. Earliest recoRd. For the San Francisquito Cr. watershed is 8/1961 "Hiking and riding trail below Skyline Boulevard between Bear Gulch Road and Kings Mountain Road" (DS458064)
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek kynos or kyon, "a dog," and oura, "a tail" / covered with prickles like a hedgehog

DACTYLIS ORCHARD GRASS

D. glomerata L. | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun Jul
TJM2 | CAL-IPC (Invasive Plant Council)
LOCS ― Below the Dam along Rd C; along Bird Trail near Hillside Lab; Rd D at edge of serpentine
COMMENTS ― Orchard grass is widespread on the Preserve and sometimes abundant. Distinctive lemmas are scabrous to ciliate [with comb-like hairs]-keeled, tapering to a short awn. The infl. branches are at first appressed and the infl. appears cylindrical; later the lower branches reflex to 90% at anthesis as the pulvinus [organ] in the axil of each branch becomes turgid; spikelets on all branches appear one-sided; stem bases conspicuously flattened side-to-side. A cultivated European species, the earliest SF Bay Area collections are from 1898.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Latin dactylis and the Greek daktylos for a kind of grape or grass, the Greek name in turn derived from daktylos, "a finger," referring to the finger-like appearance of the inflorescence / clustered

DANTHONIA OAT GRASS

D. californica Bol. CALIFORNIA OAT GRASS | NATIVE PERENNIAL
DANTHONIOIDEAE ― Danthonieae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun Jul
TJM2
LOCS ― Abundant southeast of Trail 3 at ridge top on and off serpentine (Sector 23); abundant in the vicinity of the semaphore grass vernal pond (Sector 20 E5) west of the Sun Field Station road within the 120m contour (Sector 20 E4,E5); across road from Sun Field Station visitor parking (Sector 30 B1,C1); JRGCE (Jasper Ridge Global Change) plots; inside Escobar Gate along and in Rd. F; along Rd. F (Sector 34 and Sector 22,23,33,34); Area C transect (Salvador) crossing Rd. F; north side of Ridge down slope from Escobar Gate in grassy openings (Sector 35,36); Trail 15 west of intersection with Trail 16 (Sector 34 C3); Trail b in blue oak woodland; abundant in Hermit Cabin Meadow (Sector 33 D4)
COMMENTS ― Widespread and often cryptic when not in bloom when forming a low flat basal tuft. Other forms have a conspicuous tussock. Our plants are var. californica after TJM1 with glabrous leaves (ligule minute, truncate and conspicuously hairy aka ciliate). Following the cool wet winter of 1973/74 Herb Dengler wrote in his 24 May 1974 fieldnotes: “. . . noticeable is the first widespread appearance of Danthonia californica, which has abundant seed and bids for the first time to become a noticeable component of the grassland on top of J.R. growing to 2' with arched culms because of heavy heads (probably a usual circumstance)”
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― after Étienne Danthoine, late 18th century/early 19th century French botanist and agrostologist from Marseilles / of California

DESCHAMPSIA HAIR GRASS

1. Ann; sts 1 or loosely clumped; basal lvs not tufted ..... D. danthonioides
1' Per; sts loosely to densely clumped; basal lvs tufted, lf blades ± 1 mm wide; Infl < 1 cm wide ..... D. elongata

D. danthonioides (Trin.) Munro ANNUAL HAIR GRASS | NATIVE ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun
TJM2
LOCS ― Along Rd. F serpentine in areas of thin soil; Trail 9 at serpentine contact; Area C transect (Salvador) crossing Rd. F; abundant along Rd. F east of Trail 15 at the edge of chaparral (Sector 35 B5); Rd. E 037.40175, -122.23571; 322 ft elev. WGS-84; Trail b extension, above seep in West Serpentine Chaparral
COMMENTS ― Earliest Consortium record for the San Francisquito watershed is 1900 "Woodside" (DS70426)
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― after French botanist Louis Auguste Deschamps (1766-1842) / like genus Danthonia

D. elongata (Hook.) Munro SLENDER HAIR GRASS | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― May Jun
TJM2
LOCS ― Abundant at fence line downhill from Escobar Gate; Trail 2; Rd D uphill from Trail 5 in ditch; intersection of Rd J and Rd H in shallow drainage with Carex densa; Rd. E 037.40175, -122.23571; 322 ft elev. WGS-84; intersection of Trail 18 and Rd J with Briza maxima; Tr. 13 Leonard’s Bridge-Causeway; abundant in lowest point of Hermit Cabin Meadow (Sector 33 D4); Middle Lake area at north boundary; Mapache Trail (12) before swale, just before going uphill onto Trail 10, right and left of path; near low flow crossing San Francisquito Cr.
COMMENTS ― Does well in disturbed areas, namely, along the edge of trails and roads
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― after French botanist Louis Auguste Deschamps (1766-1842) / elongated, lengthened

DIGITARIA CRAB GRASS

D. sanguinalis (L.) Scop. HAIRY CRAB GRASS | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
PANICOIDEAE ― Paniceae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
TJM2
LOCS ― Old Bike Bowl; near low-flow crossing of San Francisquito Creek; below Trail 12 in the dry stream bed of the Corte Madera Creek; Corte Madera Creek near intersection with Trail 12; S.F. Creek bed, a few hundred yards below N. bend, at the Dennis Martin settlement site
COMMENTS ― Uncommon; arm’s-length gestalt like Cynodon: Digitaria is an annual w/ short-stalked spikelets (vs. Cynodon, stoloniferous perennials w/ sessile spikelets)
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo ― Grass Manual on the Web
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Latin digitus, "a finger," from the arrangement of the inflorescence branches / pertaining to blood

ECHINOCHLOA

E. crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv. | NATURALIZED ANNUAL TO PER
PANICOIDEAE ― Paniceae
STATUS ― Specimen (CCH records for Jasper Ridge)
BLOOM ― July Aug Sept Oct Nov
TJM2 ― http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=23791
LOCS ― All Jasper Ridge plants have awnless upper lemmas. Some plants with unbranched, short (mostly less than 2 cm long), widely-spaced branches are characteristic of E. colona; however, bearing a line of minute hairs at the base of the fertile lemma tip we also call this material Echinochloa crus-galli. Bear Creek confluence with San Francisquito Creek; SF Creek downstream from the low-flow crossing; drying Searsville Lake-Corta Madera Creek delta.
COMMENTS ― Occasional in drying creek and lake beds; decumbant culms. Our plants lack lemma awns. The genus Echinochloa usually lacks ligules (comprised of hairs when present) at least on the upper leaves. It may be mistaken for Paspalum dilatatum, which has truncate, ragged membranous ligules 1.5-3.8 mm long. Both have infl. branches with paired, short-pedicellate spikelets. Paspalum dilatatum is also a Panicoid grass growing in similar habitat and with similar raceme-like inflorescence.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― Grass Manual on the Web | http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=jrbp+Echinochloa
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek echinos for "hedgehog" or "sea-urchin," and chloe or chloa, "grass," referring to the spikelets which are bristly / from the Latin crus, "the leg or thigh," and gallus, "a cock," this specific epithet is supposed to mean "cock's spur"

EHRHARTA VELDT GRASS

E. erecta Lam. PANIC VELDT GRASS | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
EHRHARTOIDEAE ― Ehrharteae
STATUS ― Specimen (CCH records for Jasper Ridge)
BLOOM ― May Jun Jul Aug
TJM2 ―http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=23854
CAL-IPC (Invasive Plant Council) ― http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/plant_profiles/Ehrharta_erecta.php
LOCS ― in dry bed and on banks of Bear and San Francisquito creeks, particularly downstream of the low-flow crossing; bedrock mortar on Trail a near intersection with Trail 1; Caves Trail off of Trail 1 to Rattlesnake Rocks
COMMENTS ― The Herbarium team removed a single plant from the Low Flow Crossing area of San Francisquito Creek in 2003. In 2005 ten or so Ehrharta erecta plants were observed fruiting in early December along Bear Creek and Sand Hill Road at the Preserve boundary fence. Ehrharta can now be found downstream in and along Bear Creek and San Francisquito Creek and is also well-established away from the San Francisquito Creek. In addition to the corrugated lemma, the white-opaque ligule is erose and auricles hyaline with red venation and ciliate margins; all conspicuous characters. In flower in the field panic veldt grass appeared at first blush, before familiarity developed, to be Melica imperfecta. The earliest Consortium record for Santa Clara and San Mateo counties is 1978 "Near Pescadero Point")
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=jrbp+Ehrharta+erecta
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― Jacob Friedrich Ehrhart (1742-1795), German botanist and student of Linnaeus / erect

ELYMUS WILD RYE, WHEAT GRASS, SQUIRRELTAIL

“References to number of spikelets per node is best understood as "most, if not all" and best determined by examining nodes in middle of infl.” (TJM2) As treated here, genus includes taxa previously assigned to Leymus.

1. Infl axis breaking apart with age; spikelets 2(3) per node; glumes awn-like ..... E. multisetus
1' Infl axis remaining intact with age
2. Lemma awn gen 10–30 mm; spikelets gen 2 per node ..... E. glaucus ssp. glaucus
2' Lemma awn 0–10 mm
3. Glumes gen awl-like, or if lanceolate, then often inconspicuously 0–3-veined; plants rhizomatous
4. Lf blades gen 3–6 mm wide; spikelets 2 per node, 3–7 florets ..... E. triticoides ssp. triticoides
4’ Lf blades gen 6–15 mm wide; spikelets 2–6 per node, with 6–9 florets ..... E. × gouldii
3' Glumes flat, narrowly to broadly lanceolate, strongly 3–9-veined, thin (if thickened, tip obtuse); tips acute to acuminate and/or awned
4. Rhizomes present; lf blade 6–14 mm wide; lemma glabrous ..... E. repens (unconfirmed report)
4' Rhizomes gen 0; spikelets gen 2 per node ..... E. glaucus ssp. virescens

Named hybrids (after FNA v.24; TJM2)
E. x hansenii ― intermediate in height and other characters between parents, presumably E. glaucus and E. multisetus at Jasper Ridge
Elymus x gouldii (syn. Leymus × multiflorus) ― robust, rhizomatous, sterile hybrid of E. triticoides and E. condensatus

E. glaucus Buckley BLUE WILD RYE, WESTERN WILD RYE | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Triticeae
COMMENTS ― Hybridizes with E. multisetus forming the sterile E. x hansenii. Plants with retrorsely pubescent leaf sheaths (Elymus glaucus var. jepsonii) are rare locally (JROH5113) known only from grassy area creekside of Trail 12 northwest of the Trail 10 intersection (Sector 40 B2)

E. glaucus ssp. glaucus
POOIDEAE ― Triticeae
STATUS ― Specimen (CCH records for Jasper Ridge)
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun
TJM2 ―http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=50264
LOCS ― Abundant along south side of Rd. F just west of Escobar Gate (Sector 34 D5); abundant in blue oak woodland along Rd. F (Sector 23 B2); south side of Sun Field Station and along Rd. J under valley oaks; JRGCE (Jasper Ridge Global Change) plots; old quarry at west end of Tr. 12
COMMENTS ― Widespread and common, sometimes in dense stands. Along with Bromus carinatus the most common native perennial grass in oak woodland/savannah.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=jrbp+elymus+glaucus
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek name elymos for "millet," in turn from elyo, "to cover" / from the Greek meaning "bluish-gray," referring primarily to the leaves, and specifically to "bloom," the fine, whitish powder that coats the leaves of certain plants

E. glaucus ssp. virescens (Piper) Gould
POOIDEAE ― Triticeae
STATUS ― Specimen (JROH5114)
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun
TJM2 ―http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=50266
LOCS ― Single collection and only known location: rocky area adjacent to Trail "a" near serpentine/sandstone contact growing with ssp. glaucus (Sector 13 A4). This grass is more common locally on the coast
COMMENTS ― Rare; not seen since 2010
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=jrbp+elymus+glaucus+virescens | Grass Manual on the Web
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek name elymos for "millet," in turn from elyo, "to cover" / from the Greek meaning "bluish-gray" / greenish, becoming green

Elymus x gouldii JP Smith and T. Columbus | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Triticeae
SYN ― Leymus × multiflorus M. E. Barkworth
STATUS ― Specimen (Consortium records for Jasper Ridge)
BLOOM ― May June
TJM2 ―
FNA ― Vol. 24: 362, 363 (illus.)
LOCS ― Near San Francisquito Creek where its riparian corridor (shrubby coast live oaks) transitions to a grassy meadow (NAD83 37.411390°, -122.227067°; Sector 14 D3-E2) south of Rd. B
COMMENTS ― Tall (to 6 feet), rhizomatous perennial forming a conspicuous stand about 23m long and 13m wide. A sterile hybrid of Elymus triticoides and Elymus condensatus; anthers indehiscent; glumes subulate; lemmas acute to awned, awns to 1.8 mm. First JRBP voucher 8/3/2011. John Thomas collected this E. x gouldii "along Alpine Road near Ladera" in 1963 (RSA176541) and David Keck collected it around Stanford's Lake Lagunita in 1937 (UC579752). There are several small populations of E. triticoides nearby along the Preserve's Rd. B, the nearest about 100 m NE and a few yards south of road. E. triticoides currently grows elsewhere at JRBP and on campus in the Greenbelt, Academic Preserve, and Lake Lag. E. condensatus was collected by W.R. Dudley downstream from the Preserve near San Francisquito Creek in 1895 (DS283435). According to FNA 24:338: "Elymus is notorious for its ability to hybridize. . . The parentage of all hybrids is best determined in the field. Perennial hybrids, such as those in Elymus, can persist in an area after one or both parents have died out, but the simplest assumption is that both parents are present"
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=jrbp+elymus+gouldii
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek name elymos for "millet," in turn from elyo, "to cover" / Frank W. Gould, Agrostologist

E. x hansenii | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Triticeae
SYN ― Sitanion hanseni J. G. Smith
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― same as parents
TJM2 ―mentioned; not given taxonomic status
FNA ― Vol. 24: 340, 342 (illus.)
LOCS ― West edge of Trail b about 60 meters from Rd. F intersection; Trail 11 about 50 m from Rd. E intersection; Rd. F near intersection (NW corner) with Trail 9; along (south side) of Rd. F about 50 m from Escobar Gate where E. glaucus is abundant; along path from visitor parking to Global change (10/2014)
COMMENTS ― Occasional single plant. Presumably a cespitose, sterile hybrid of E. multisetus and E. glaucus. According to FNA 24:338: "Elymus is notorious for its ability to hybridize. . . The parentage of all hybrids is best determined in the field. Perennial hybrids, such as those in Elymus, can persist in an area after one or both parents have died out, but the simplest assumption is that both parents are present. Interspecific hybrids of Elymus that have disarticulating rachises presumably have E. elymoides or E. multisetus as one of their parents"
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=jrbp+elymus+hybrid
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek name elymos for "millet," in turn from elyo, "to cover" / after George Hansen (1863-1908)

E. multisetus (J.G. Sm.) Burtt Davy BIG SQUIRRELTAIL | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Triticeae
SYN ― Sitanion jubatum J.G. Sm.
STATUS ― Specimen (Consortium records for Jasper Ridge)
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun
TJM2 ―
LOCS ― Rd. F (Sector 23, 24, 34); Trail 15 (Sector 34, 25); Area C transect (Salvador) crossing Rd. F; JRGCE (Jasper Ridge Global Change) plots
COMMENTS ― Abundant and widespread in serpentine prairie, particularly southern and western exposures
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=jrbp+elymus+multisetus
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek name elymos for "millet," in turn from elyo, "to cover" / with many bristles

Elymus repens (L.) Gould QUACK GRASS
POOIDEAE ― Triticeae
SYN ― Agropyron repens (L.) P. Beauv.; Elytrigia repens (L.) Desv. ex Nevski
STATUS ―Undocumented report
TJM2 ―
LOCS ― Nearest Consortium records Half Moon Bay and San Bruno Mt.
COMMENTS ― Another Dengler report
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― Grass Manual on the Web
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek name elymos for "millet," in turn from elyo, "to cover" / having creeping and rooting stems

E. triticoides Buckley BEARDLESS WILD RYE | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Triticeae
SYN ― Leymus triticoides (Buckley) Pilg.
STATUS ― Specimen (CCH records)
BLOOM ― May Jun Jul Aug
TJM2 ― http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=24181
LOCS ― Occasional along SLAC Corridor Rd. B (~ 100 m along Rd. B from Whiskey Hill Gate growing with Stipa pulchra); along the road to the caretaker’s house for about 60 yards from the Preserve entrance road
COMMENTS ― This rhizomatous perennial typically has blue-green leaves (some populations are green) and often grows around Coyote brush, Baccharis pilularis, as well as in annual grassland
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=jrbp+Leymus+triticoides
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek name elymos for "millet," in turn from elyo, "to cover" / tritico'ides: like genus Triticum, or wheat

ERAGROSTIS LOVE GRASS

E. curvula (Schrad.) Nees WEEPING LOVE GRASS | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
STATUS ― watch list
BLOOM ― Nov
TJM2
LOCS ― Sand Hill Road roadside at Horse Park entrance
COMMENTS ― Perennial. Not reported for the SF Bay Area in TJM2. Reference voucher available.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ―
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek eros, "love," and agrostis, "grass" / "might mean something like "slightly bent or crooked (i.e., the leaf)"

E. mexicana (Hornem.) Link ssp. virescens (C. Presl) Koch & E. Stnchez | NATIVE ANNUAL
CHLORIDOIDEAE ― Cynodonteae
STATUS ― Specimen (Consortium records for Jasper Ridge)
BLOOM ― Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
TJM2
LOCS ―
COMMENTS ― Summer-blooming annual lovegrass is regularly seen in dry drainages and on the Corte Madera Cr. delta; however, most of our collections lack mature fruit making identification to species problematic. We have a single collection with good fruit displaying the tessellated pericarp and adaxial groove diagnostic for E. mexicana.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES camera icon ―
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek eros, "love," andagrostis, "grass" / from Mexico / greenish

E. pectinacea (Michx.) Nees var. pectinacea | NATIVE ANNUAL
CHLORIDOIDEAE ― Cynodonteae
STATUS ― Specimen (Consortium records for Jasper Ridge)
BLOOM ― Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
TJM2
LOCS ― Dry delta in Searsville Lake at mouth of Corte Madera Creek; Dry creek bed of San Francisquito Creek near Dennis Martin site; growing nicely in a large patch 1.5 to 2 m radius by the garden fence and the blackberry bush at caretaker’s residence 7/26/12
COMMENTS ― Summer-blooming annual lovegrass is regularly seen in dry drainages and on the Corte Madera Cr. delta; however, most of our collections lack mature fruit making identification to species problematic. We have two collections with good fruit displaying the finely longitudinally striated pericarp and no adaxial groove characteristic of E. pectinacea var. pectinacea.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek eros, "love," andagrostis, "grass" / comb-like

FESTUCA FESCUE, RYE GRASS

1. Infl spike-like (sometimes sparingly branched); glume 1 exc in uppermost spikelet (subgenus Lolium)
2. Glume < rest of spikelet; lower lemma firmly membranous, flat to rounded at base ..... F. perennis
2' Glume >= rest of spikelet; lower lemma becoming hard and thick at base ..... F. temulenta
1' Infl panicle-like, branches dense and appressed to open and spreading, or raceme-like; glumes 2, lower sometimes minute
3. Lf blade with prominent claw-like or clasping basal auricles (subgenus Schedonorus) ..... F. arundinacea
3' Lf blade gen without prominent claw-like, clasping basal auricles (inconspicuous flap-like auricles sometimes present)
4. Ann; stamen 1 (subgenus Vulpia)
5. Lower glume gen < 2 mm, < 1/2 upper glume, sometimes minute ..... F. myuros
5' Lower glume gen > 3 mm, > 1/2 upper glume
6. Florets (5)7–12, closely overlapping, spikelet axis hidden; lemma awn 0.5–5 mm ..... F. octoflora
6' Florets gen 1–7, loosely overlapping, spikelet axis visible, each internode > 1 mm; lemma awn 3.5–12 mm
7. Lowest infl branches appressed to erect at maturity; branches without basal swellings ..... F. bromoides
7' Lowest infl branches spreading or reflexed at maturity; branches with basal swellings ..... F. microstachys
4' Per; stamens gen 3 (subgenus Festuca)
8. Lf sheath closed, shreading in age, hairs ± downward-pointing ..... F. rubra
8' Lf sheath open at least 1/2 its length, gen green, glabrous or hairy, hairs not downward-pointing
9. Lf blade gen (1)2–10 mm wide, flat
10. Collar densely hairy; lemma awn 1.5–2.5 mm from lemma tip, awn gen < 1/3 lemma; pls densely cespitose, with persistent dead lf sheaths at base ..... F. californica
10' Collar glabrous; lemma awn 2–5 mm from between 2 short teeth, awn gen > 1/3 lemma; pls loosely cespitose, dead lf sheaths inconspicuous or 0..... F. elmeri
9' Lf blade < 2.5 mm wide, folded or rolled
11. Collar gen densely hairy; pls densely cespitose, with persistent dead lf sheaths at base ..... F. californica
11' Collar glabrous; pls cespitose, without persistent dead lf sheaths at base; lemma awns 3–12 mm, > lemma body ..... F. occidentalis
(source TJM2)

F. arundinacea Schreb. TALL FESCUE | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― May June
TJM2 | CAL-IPC
LOCS ― Occasional around Sun Field Station; upper footpath to dam from Sun Field Station (Section 21 D3)
COMMENTS ― Actively spreading in the creeks
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Latin festuca, "a grass stalk or straw" / resembling a reed

F. bromoides L. BROME FESCUE | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Feb Mar Apr
TJM2
LOCS ― Sun Field Station Guest Parking; Rd. D west of Rd. E intersection; JRGCE (Jasper Ridge Global Change) plots; Rattlesnake Rocks spur road near power line poles; Goya Gate spur path; disturbed area around Caretaker’s residence/Corporation Yard (Sector 29 D3)
COMMENTS ―
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Latin festuca, "a grass stalk or straw" / like the genus Bromus

F. californica Vasey CALIFORNIA FESCUE | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen
SYN ― Festuca californica subsp. californica
BLOOM ― Mar Apr May Jun
TJM2
LOCS ― Abundant on Trail 4 as understory of blue and black oaks; down slope on Trail 15 (Sector 34 C3); upslope on Trail 1 where serpentine is exposed; Trail c upslope and downslope (Sector 32 C1,D1); Rd. F in blue oak woodland north end of Ridge
COMMENTS ― This most beautifully proportioned grass is frequently found in partial shade on north-facing slopes, in open forest, and chaparral. It tolerates serpentine as demonstrated by the large tufts below Trail 15 and uphill from Trail 1 where serpentine is exposed
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Latin festuca, "a grass stalk or straw" / California

F. elmeri Scribn. & Merr. | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen CCH2 | Calflora
BLOOM ― May June
TJM2
LOCS ― known from a single population growing in mixed evergreen forest with a northerly aspect east of Hillside Lab and south of Trail 7 (between Trail 7 and the "bird" trail), NAD83 37.407846°, -122.235191°; a few outliers on Trail 8 northeast of its intersection with Trail 7
COMMENTS ― Grows with creeping snowberry and poison oak south of Trail 7. Readily confused at a distance with Bromus carinatus but has smaller, finer spikelets on wavy somewhat filiform branches; loosely tufted and basal leaves sometimes wither at flowering. Earliest Consortium record for San Francisquito Cr. watershed is 1901 "Stanford U"
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Latin festuca, "a grass stalk or straw" / after Adolph Daniel Edward (A.D.E.) Elmer (1870-1942), who collected in central coasta California

F. microstachys Nutt. | NATIVE ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
SYN ― Vulpia microstachys (Nutt.) Munro var. ciliata (A. Gray ex Beal) Lonard & Gould; Vulpia microstachys var. pauciflora (Scribn. ex Beal) Lonard & Gould
STATUS ― Specimen CCH2
BLOOM ― Mar Apr May
TJM2
LOCS ― Abundant on Trail c in blue oak woodland (Sector 32 C1,D1); Trail 15 (Sector 34 C3) near the California fescue site; Rd. F through Sector 35 C5 and Sector 23, 24, 33; Area C transect (Salvador) crossing Rd. F; rocky openings in West Serpentine Chaparral; 71 meters up drainage from highest bridge on Trail 11 with Melica californica. Vulpia microstachys var. ciliata has been collected at NE edge of Rd. F opposite Trail 9 intersection; scree slope in old quarry at west end of Tr. 12; around Vestal's historical exclosure in Area H near chaparral margin, and in rocky opening of the West Serpentine Chapparal.
COMMENTS ― The most common native annual grass, widespread in serpentine areas, particularly in thinner, rockier soil where there is less competition with Lolium and Bromus hordeaceus. The species retains reflexed inflorescence branches after anthesis and is consequently conspicuous. Occasional off serpentine (Trail 15). Two varieties found at Jasper Ridge are distinct and do not appear to intergrade. Vulpia microstachys var. pauciflora lacking glume and lemma hairs is probably the more common form; V. m. var. ciliata with glume and lemma hairs is occasional. The earliest collection of V. m. var. pauciflora was by A.G. Vestal 5/7/1923. Depauperate Festuca bromoides sometimes grows with Festuca microstachys and can be distinguished at maturity by the latter’s reflexed branches at anthesis and conspicuous ± reddish turgid organs (pulvini) at base of infl. branches. For its reaction to drought see the Comments section for Agrostis microphylla.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Latin festuca, "a grass stalk or straw" / from the Greek words for "small" and "ear of corn, or spike"

F. myuros L. RATTAIL SIXWEEKS GRASS | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
SYN ― Vulpia myuros (L.) C. Gmelin var. myuros; Vulpia myuros (L.) K. C. Gmelin. var. hirsuta Hack. = Festuca megalura Nutt., earlier regarded as a native species (Lonard and Gould, 1974). Both forms are found at JRBP.
STATUS ― Specimen CCH2
BLOOM ― Mar Apr May
TJM2
LOCS ― Verge of Trail 14 through chaparral; JRGCE (Jasper Ridge Global Change) plots; Brick path to Sun Field Station; disturbed area around Caretaker’s residence/Corporation Yard (Sector 29 D3)
COMMENTS ― Springer (1935): “Frequent in open fields, near lake, and along roadsides in April and May
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Latin festuca, "a grass stalk or straw" / long and tapering, like a mouse's tail

F. occidentalis Hook. WESTERN FESCUE | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun Jul
TJM2
LOCS ― 0
COMMENTS ― There is a question whether DS14030 (1903) is from Jasper Ridge. Western fescue, however, currently grows nearby in openings in woodland on the eastern slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains at slightly higher elevations including along the Razorback Ridge Trail in the upper reaches of the Corte Madera Creek watershed and at mid-elevations in Huddart County Park and the Phleger Addition to GGNRA in the Union Creek drainage
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Latin festuca, "a grass stalk or straw" / Western

F. octoflora Walter SIX-WEEKS GRASS | NATIVE ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
SYN ― Vulpia octoflora (Walter) Rydb.; Vulpia octoflora var. hirtella (Piper) Henrard
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Apr May
TJM2
LOCS ― sharp bend in Trail 9 where interior live oaks appear (Sector 31 C2; NAD83 37.403088°, -122.234255°); top of Nolan Ridge
COMMENTS ― Rare on the Preserve; collected three times 1963, 1966, and 2009; not reported since
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Latin festuca, "a grass stalk or straw" / eight-flowered

F. perennis (L.) Columbus & J.P. Sm. RYE GRASS | NATURALIZED ANNUAL TO PER
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
SYN ― Lolium multiflorum Lam.; Lolium perenne L.
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Mar Apr May
TJM2 | CAL-IPC (Invasive Plant Council)
LOCS ― Usually absent from chaparral, redwood forest, and freshwater marsh, it is found in most other plant communities and is a dominant spring plant in the the deeper soil areas of the serpentine prairie as well as vernally wet places including the California semaphore grass seasonal pond; Area C transect (Salvador) crossing Rd. F; along Rd. F in Area C; JRGCE (Jasper Ridge Global Change) plots
COMMENTS ― Both Lolium multiflorum Lam. and Lolium perenne L. are present and vouchered, as is x Schedolium holmbergii (Dorfl.) Soreng & Terrell, the branched hybrid with Festuca arundinacea (Rawlings 1018, 1020). x Schedolium holmbergii are paniculate (plants with a branched inflorescence); short, truncate, membranous ligules; cauline leaf blades of young plant have conspicuous auricles. Reference: Soreng, R.J. and E.E. Terrell. 1998. Taxonomic notes on Schedonorus, a segregate genus from Festuca or Lolium, with a new nothogenus, x Schedololium, and new combinations (Phytologia 83:85-88).

Italian ryegrass, Lolium multiflorum appears in all JRBP floras. The earliest record of Lolium growing in the serpentine is from Herb Dengler’s 1962/63 fieldnotes recently transcribed by Zoe Chandik. On May 19, 1963 he writes, evidently with reference to both Bromus hordeaceus and Lolium, “Mediterranian grass has successfully invaded the serp this year.” Springer (1938) found Italian rye grass to be “frequent along roadsides and in open fields and on openly wooded slopes near roads.” The earliest Consortium record for the SF Creek watershed is 1901 "Stanford Univ. Stock Farm". Thomas (1961) did not report Italian rye grass growing on serpentine in the Santa Cruz Mountains. McNaughton (1968) did not report Italian rye grass from his serpentine plots. In 1990 the third revised edition of the Jasper Ridge Docent Handbook still identified only soft chess from among the Preserve’s naturalized grasses growing on serpentine. Armstrong and Huenneke (1993) documented Lolium was common in serpentine by 1985-86 and that it was negatively affected by drought. In 2001 and 2002 Lolium accounted for 32% and 20%, respectively, cover of Stuart Weiss’ JRBP serpentine transects (Weiss, 2002). In Spring 2006 the herbarium crew assisted in two relevant-to-this-issue surveys, a repeat of the Armstrong and Huenneke transect; and the vegetation component of a small mammal inventory. It is our impression that Lolium may approach a frequency of 80% to 90% in some serpentine quadrats. Hobbs et al. (2007) data shows lower coverage and frequency of Lolium for 1983-2003 in his plots. The herbarium crew has not examined Hobbs' 50 x 50 m quadrats. Also see CNPS Vegetation Rapid Assessment Field Form JASP0001 3/25/2008. Finally, about the same time Lolium was first reported on serpentine there is suggestive evidence it was increasing in other soils. Brown (1986) reported Italian ryegrass "thoroughly covers plot" on sandstone derived soil in blue oak woodland; the previous survey of this 16 ft x 3 ft plot in 1962 by Herb Dengler reported no Lolium. During this 24-year period cattle grazing had ceased on the Ridge. (Also see Weiss, 2002; Hopkinson, 2008). Adaptation by nonnative grasses to sepentinite significantly alters the serpentine prairie by forming dense patches within which few native species survive and leaving a persistent thatch that prevents recruitment by native species and alters the local nutrient dynamics. (Hobbs et al. 1988, Huenneke et al. 1990, Weiss 1999)

Relating to drought tolerance, Armstrong and Huenecke (1993) noted: "The abrupt transition from serpentine to greenstone substratum was most clearly displayed by a change in species composition among the non-native annual grasses. Of the eleven species of non-native annual grasses found, only three occurred on both serpentine and greenstone grasslands. Hordeum sp. [H. marinum], Bromus mollis and Lolium multiflorum showed a disproportionate decline in frequency in the serpentine grassland during the drought relative to Vulpia microstachys (Table 4) but also declined to a lesser extent in the greenstone grassland. Lolium multiflorum, unlike the other two alien grass species, was affected by the drought to roughly the same extent in greenstone and serpentine grassland. The most common native annual grass, Vulpia microstachys, tolerated the combination of drought and serpentine substratum much better than did the non-native annual grasses." (p.225)
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo ― Hitchcock & Chase, 2 ed. Fig. 370
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Latin festuca, "a grass stalk or straw" / perennial

Lolium multiflorum distribution map
[Lolium multiflorum] is likely singlehandedly responsible for the local reduction of native wildflower diversity and distribution. This vigorous competitor germinates early and quickly overtops smaller annuals competing for light and resources. It's thatch is a formidable barrier to seedling establishment (Naumovich 2019). Distribution map, POTW Online, Green = reported native range

F. perennis x F. arundinacea > xSchedolium loliaceum (Catalogue of new world grasses 6/7/2017)
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
SYN ― × Festulolium holmbergii, x Schedolium holmbergii
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Apr May
LOCS ― Edge of Danthonia meadow; Sun Field Station west path to visitor parking (Sector 20 E5); Trail 9 “Buckeye Alley” (Sector 21 C4)
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo

F. rubra L. RED FESCUE | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― May
TJM2
LOCS ― A single, limited occurrence growing with F. arundinacea and Phalaris aquaticafive yards east of the Searsville Lab Road near a youngish coast live oak (Sector 30 C4; NAD83 37.401515°, -122.240397°)
COMMENTS ― May be an horticultural escape
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Latin festuca, "a grass stalk or straw" / red for shredding sheaths

F. temulenta (L.) Columbus & J.P. Sm. DARNEL, TARES | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
SYN ― Lolium temulentum L.
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― May
TJM2
LOCS ― inside Goya Gate; Escobar Road horse trail inside and out Preserve boundary fence
COMMENTS ― Uncommon, may be overlooked. Springer (1935) found it growing near Lolium multiflorum “but not so common”
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Latin festuca, “a grass stalk or straw” / from the Latin temulus for “drunken, nodding, top-heavy”

GASTRIDIUM

G. phleoides (Nees & Meyen) C.E. Hubb. NIT GRASS | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
SYN ― Gastridium ventricosum (Gouan) Schinz & Thell., misappl.
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun Jul
TJM2
LOCS ― Numerous collections: Escobar Gate; Trail 9 at serpentine contact; JRGCE (Jasper Ridge Global Change) plots
COMMENTS ― Widespread and common naturalized annual including serpentine. First vouchered by Thomas in June, 1963 (10172). Springer (1935) wrote “. . . frequent in dry open fields in May and June. In many places this grass forms the only green spots on the hills at this time.” Is confused at arm’s-length with Agrostis microphylla with which it grows in vernally wet spots in serpentine. The earliest Consortium record for the SF Creek watershed is 1900 "Stanford Univ"
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― "Diminutive of the Greek gaster, 'abdomen, belly, paunch,' referring to the base of the spikelets, swollen" / resembling genus Phleum

GLYCERIA MANNA GRASS

G. × occidentalis (Piper) J.C. Nelson WESTERN MANNA GRASS | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Meliceae
SYN ― Glyceria occidentalis
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Jun
TJM2
LOCS ― On a sand bar at the confluence of Bear and San Francisquito creeks; plants not seen in recent years
COMMENTS ― adventitious, few plants observed in 2007; not reported since
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo ― Grass Manual on the Web
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek glykys, "sweet," referring to the edible grains / Western

HAINARDIA

H. cylindrica (Willd.) Greuter | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ―Specimen
BLOOM ― Apr May
TJM2
LOCS ― Occasional on Rd. B in Sector 14 with Plantago coronopus; back brick patio of Sun Field Station (Rawlings 1007) in sandy fill between bricks (Sector 21 C5)
COMMENTS ― plants in field station patio haven't persisted
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo ― Grass Manual on the Web
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― after Pierre Hainard (1936- ), geobotanist /

HIEROCHLOE > ANTHOXANTHUM

HOLCUS VELVET GRASS

H. lanatus L. COMMON VELVET GRASS | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct
TJM2 | CAL-IPC (Invasive Plant Council)
LOCS ― Along Leonard’s bridge; west side of Searsville Lake south of the Searsville Lab
COMMENTS ― Earliest collection from “Searsville” by Leroy Abrams in October, 1900. Robbins (1940) writes that velvet grass was "introduced from Europe and used somewhat as a meadow grass, has occasionally escaped from cultivation. Bolander (1870) records it near San Francisco."
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek holkos, an ancient name for some kind of grain or possibly grass /

HORDEUM BARLEY

H. brachyantherum ssp. californicum (Covas & Stebbins) Bothmer et al. CALIFORNIA BARLEY | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Triticeae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun
TJM2
LOCS ― Seep in West Serpentine Chaparral; vernally wet spots in Area C serpentine including Trail 9 at serpentine contact; Area C transect (Salvador) crossing Rd. F; seep on the north side of the ridge (Sector 24 B3); semaphore grass vernal pond; Trail 15 southern end where small drainage crosses trail; Horkelia site in old quarry at west end of Tr. 12
COMMENTS ―
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― ancient Latin name for barley / with short anthers

H. marinum Huds. ssp. gussoneanum (Parl.) Thell. MEDITERRANEAN BARLEY | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Triticeae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun
TJM2
LOCS ― Along and in Rd. F in vernally wet areas on and off serpentine; JRGCE (Jasper Ridge Global Change) plots; Eleocharis Meadow Tr. 12 just S of Leonard's Bridge; verge of entrance road inside Sand Hill Road main gate
COMMENTS ― Widespread, typically short, glaucus
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― ancient Latin name for barley / growing by or in the sea / after the Italian botanist Giovanni Gussone

H. murinum L. WALL BARLEY. Auricles of upper lvs well developed, 1–4 mm; infl axis breaking apart at maturity; lateral spikelets stalked; glume margins ciliate

1. Central spikelet stalk 0–0.5 mm; lemma of central floret gen = lemma of lateral floret; palea of lateral
floret scabrous to glabrous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ssp. murinum
1´ Central spikelet stalk 1–2 mm; lemma of central floret < lemma of lateral floret; palea of lateral floret
hairy or scabrous on lower 1/2
2. Lemma of central floret ≤ those of lateral florets; palea of lateral florets long-hairy on lower 1/2; anthers
of central florets < 1/2 those of lateral florets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ssp. glaucum
2´ Lemma of central floret << those of lateral florets; palea of lateral florets scabrous on lower 1/2; anthers
of central spikelets = those of lateral florets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ssp. leporinum
(TJM2 p. 1458)

H. murinum ssp. glaucum (Steud.) Tzvelev SMOOTH BARLEY | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Triticeae
SYN ― Hordeum stebbinsii Covas. H. glaucum Steud. was recognized as a distinct species in California and named H. stebbinsii before the earlier name came to light.
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Apr
TJM2
LOCS ― Rd. B vicinity of Dennis Martin Site; west of old bathing beach on west shore of Searsville Lake
COMMENTS ― Less common than H. m. leporinum, H. m. glaucum may be overlooked or confused with H. leporinum. In the field we call shorter plants with glaucous leaves and culms bent near base "possibly" ssp. glaucum and taller plants with green leaves ssp. leporinum. All our plants have lateral floret paleas with long, soft hairs adaxially. Relative lemma lengths are not consistent with other key characters in TJM2, FNA, and other treatments. Those plants whose central floret anthers are < .75 mm long and < ½ length of lateral floret anthers are determined ssp. glauca even if central spikelet is significantly < lateral spikelets. Having consulted specimens in CAS herbarium one concurs with Glenn Clifton: "Trying to separate the group is pointless." (Flora of the South Snake Range, 1980). The earliest Consortium record for the SF Cr. watershed is 1900 "Woodside"
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ―
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― ancient Latin name for barley / of mice / from the Greek meaning "bluish-gray"

H. murinum ssp. leporinum (Link) Arcang. HARE BARLEY | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Triticeae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Mar Apr May
TJM2
LOCS ― brick path from parking to Sun Field Station; Escobar Gate; Rd C and D intersection on road verge
COMMENTS ― widespread, tolerant of partial shade, not abundant
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― ancient Latin name for barley / of mice / the root word lepus or leporis for "a hare"

H. vulgare L. BARLEY
POOIDEAE ― Triticeae
STATUS ― Undocumented report
BLOOM
TJM2
LOCS ― 0
COMMENTS ― Waif; Common Barley. Reference specimen at JROH; not collected at Jasper Ridge
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ―
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― ancient Latin name for barley / common

KOELERIA

K. macrantha (Ledeb.) Schult. JUNE GRASS | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun
TJM2
LOCS ― Common Area H south side of Rd. F in serpentine (Sector 35 C5); North edge of Area C vicinity of Phalaris californica seep; Trail 15 (Sector 34 B3,C3); Trail 5 (Sector 13 C5); Trail c (Sector 32 C1-D1); Trail 6 between Rd. F and Trail 5; along Rd D in serpentine; Trail 2 extension south of the old brick cistern
COMMENTS ― Scattered throughout serpentine, occasional on other substrates; never abundant. A handsome, long-blooming bunchgrass typically with a dense tuft of basal leaves that by late summer shrivel but persist. Junegrass has tiny fine hairs on the rachis; use your hand lens. Lemmas are sometimes short-awned (mucro-tipped). Spike-like infl. (branches appressed) when young, the short infl. branches relax when in full flower and contract again after pollination. Spikelets appear congested (in the infl.-appressed phases; both glumes are long relative to the spikelet length and june grass was included in the Avena tribe in older treatments
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― after German physician, pharmacist, botany professor and student of the grasses Georg Ludwig Koeler (1765-1807) / large-flowered

LEPTOCHLOA

1. Lemma awnless or mucronate ..... L. fusca ssp. uninervia
1' Lemma awn 0.5–3(5) mm ..... L. fusca ssp. fascicularis

L. fusca ssp. fascicularis (Lam.) N. Snow BEARDED SPRANGLETOP | NATIVE ANNUAL
CHLORIDOIDEAE ― Cynodonteae
SYN ― Leptochloa fascicularis (Lam.) A. Gray
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Aug., Sept.
TJM2
LOCS ― Bear Creek near boundary fence; San Francisquito Creek near Dennis Martin site; Corte Madera Creek Delta.
COMMENTS ― Uncommon
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― Grass Manual on the Web
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek leptos, "slender," and chloe or chloa, "grass" / dark or brown / derived from a Latin word meaning "bundles"

L. fusca ssp. uninervia (J. Presl) N. Snow MEXICAN SPRANGLETOP | NATIVE ANNUAL
CHLORIDOIDEAE ― Cynodonteae
SYN ― Leptochloa uninervia (J. Presl) Hitchc. & Chase
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Jun thru Nov
TJM2
LOCS ― Delta in Searsville Lake formed by Corte Madera Creek
COMMENTS ― Rare. Reported by Herb Dengler June 15, 1977 from “SE corner of Searsville Lake on flat bank exposed by second year of drought -- but growing on moist lake bottom mud.” No indication of abundance; not reported again since 1980
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― Grass Manual on the Web
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek leptos, "slender," and chloe or chloa, "grass" / dark or brown / with a single nerve

LEYMUS > ELYMUS

LOLIUM > FESTUCA

MELICA

Melica sheaths, like bromes, are closed (margins fused) almost to the top of the sheath.

M. californica Scribn. CALIFORNIA MELIC | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Meliceae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Apr May
TJM2
LOCS ― Just west of Rd E opposite Trail 9; north side Rd. F in rocky serpentine (Sector 35 C5); Trail 12; rocky area upstream from upper bridge on Trail 11 (baby blue-eyes site); seep area of west serpentine chaparral
COMMENTS ― Widely scattered but nowhere abundant in serpentine grassland, especially around rocky outcrops. Occasional off serpentine. Rudiment (sterile cluster) 1-3 mm w truncate tip
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek name melike deriving from mel, "honey" / of California

M. imperfecta Trin. LITTLE CALIFORNIA MELICA | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Meliceae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Apr May
TJM2
LOCS ― North side Rd. F under coast live oak canopy and 70 yards west of Trail 15 intersection (Sector 34 D5); Trail 11 near lower intersection with 9; Trail 14 near intersection w Trail 7
COMMENTS ― Widespread and common in partial shade of woodland, may grow in open at the edge of chaparral. Can form large specimens but not dense stands. Infl branching arms usually spreading; lemmas glabrous or scabrous. Check rudiment for positive ID
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek name melike deriving from mel, "honey" / uncertain application

M. subulata (Griseb.) Scribn. | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Meliceae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― May Jun
TJM2
LOCS ― Locally common to occasional along trails 1 and 2
COMMENTS ― Plants can be up to 5-feet tall; subulate lemmas without awns; mature plants w shiny, bright green stems and leaves; culms bases forming corms
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek name melike deriving from mel, "honey" / awl-shaped

M. torreyana Scribn. | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Meliceae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Apr May
TJM2
LOCS ― Trail 15 NE side of trail in grassland/chaparral ecotone with Stipa lepida (Sector 34 B3); Douglas Iris site (Sector 12 D4); abundant along Trail 1 on steep bank in serpentine; old quarry at west end of Tr. 12
COMMENTS ― Widespread and common in different habitats. Can form very small plants in deep shade or poor soils. Infl branching arms usually remain appressed; lemma back scabrous or occasionally hairy with longer hairs near tip. Like M. imperfecta mature plants w shiny, bright green stems and leaves.
Check rudiment for positive ID
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek name melike deriving from mel, "honey" / named after John Torrey (1796-1873), a professor of chemistry and one of the giants of North American botany

PANICUM PANIC GRASS

P. capillare L. WITCH GRASS | NATIVE ANNUAL
PANICOIDEAE ― Paniceae
STATUS ― Specimen (JROH5338, JROH5339)
BLOOM ― Aug
TJM2 ― http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=36094
LOCS ― San Francisquito Creek near Dennis Martin Site marker
COMMENTS ― First collected 8/23/2006 by Ann Lambrecht; reported from same location summer 2011
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=jrbp+Panicum+capillare
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from a classical Latin name for millet / hair-like

P. miliaceum L. ssp. miliaceum BROOM CORN MILLET | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
PANICOIDEAE ― Paniceae
STATUS ―Specimen (JROH5340)
BLOOM ― Sep
TJM2 ― http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=51893
LOCS ― Dry bed of Corte Madera Creek
COMMENTS ― A waif; single collection 9/11/2000; no other reports and not seen since it may have had its source in commercial bird seed mix
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=jrbp+Panicum+miliaceum
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from a classical Latin name for millet / pertaining to millet, or millet-like

PASPALUM

1. Margins of upper glume and sterile lemma glabrous; infl digitate (typically 2 branches); spikelets single ..... P. distichum
1' Margins of upper glume and sterile lemma long-silky-hairy; infl a raceme; spikelets paired ..... P. dilatatum

P. dilatatum Poir. DALLIS GRASS | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
PANICOIDEAE ― Paniceae
STATUS ― Specimen (JROH5341)
BLOOM ― Jul Aug Sep Oct
TJM2 ― http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=36384
LOCS ― Garden area adjacent to the caretaker’s house; Middle Lake area at north boundary; Corte Madera Creek flood plain (robust plants)
COMMENTS ― Expected in disturbed areas with summer water. Paspalum dilatatum has truncate, ragged membranous ligules 1.5-3.8 mm long; infl. of several to many branches with paired, short-pedicellate spikelets similar to Echinochloa crus-galli
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=jrbp+Paspalum+dilatatum
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek paspalos for "millet" / spread out

P. distichum L. KNOT GRASS | NATIVE PERENNIAL
PANICOIDEAE ― Paniceae
STATUS ― Specimen (Consortium records for Jasper Ridge)
BLOOM ― Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan
TJM2 ― http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=36387
LOCS ― Abundant at base of dam in pool (earliest voucher from this site 11/5/1964, JROH5345); occasional along SF Creek below dam (30 m downstream from Rd C bridge and near Dennis Martin Site); Searsville Lab Landing (boat dock) (37.403123°,-122.238486°); nfo
COMMENTS ― C4 photosynthetic pathway. Usually strongly rhizomatous. First collection 1/1/1903 “upper end of Searsville Lake” by William Dudley (JROH5342). Stem nodes on our plants are sparsely hairy
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=jrbp+Paspalum+distichum
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek paspalos for "millet" / in two ranks

PENNISETUM FOUNTAIN GRASS

P. setaceum (Forssk.) Chiov. CRIMSON FOUNTAIN GRASS | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
PANICOIDEAE ― Paniceae
STATUS ― Not established on the Preserve
TJM2 ―http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=36827
LOCS ― Ornamental grown in yard bordering Preserve at Goya Gate and other nearby residences.
COMMENTS ― Monitor area for escapes
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ―
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― Pennise'tum: from the Latin penna, "feather," and seta, "a bristle" / seto'sa/seto'sum: bristly hairy

PHALARIS

1. Spikelets in clusters, fertile spikelet surrounded by 5–6 abortive, club-shaped spikelets ..... P. paradoxa
1' Spikelets borne singly, all spikelets with a bisexual terminal floret
2. Glume keels not or narrowly winged
3 annual ……. P. lemmonii
3' perennial ..... P. californica
2' Glume keels broadly winged; annual or perennial
4. Keel wing entire to irregularly toothed, sterile lemma 1, 0.3–1.5 mm, awl-like ..... P. minor (unconfirmed report)
4' Keel wing entire, sterile lemmas gen 2, up to 4 mm, not awl-like
5. Per; glumes gen 4–5 mm ..... P. aquatica
5' Ann; sterile lemmas 1/5 fertile lemma, ± fleshy to corky ..... P. brachystachys

P. aquatica L. HARDING GRASS | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
SYN ― Phalaris tuberosa L. var. stenoptera (Hack.) Hitchc
STATUS ― Specimen (Consortium records for Jasper Ridge)
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
CAL-IPC (Invasive Plant Council) ― http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/plant_profiles/Phalaris_aquatica.php
LOCS ― Abundant in large meadow west end of SLAC corridor (37.411923, -122.235470; 90m ele); along Rd C from Field Station to San Francisquito Creek; a few plants in Road D ditch through serpentine; abundant in Bike Bowl and opposite Sun Field Station guest parking; Rd H just south of its intersection with Rd J; disturbed area around Caretaker’s residence/Corporation Yard (Sector 29 D3); Hermit Cabin Meadow (Sector 33 D4); Upper Trail 10 Meadow (Sector 33 B3-B4); just inside Sand Hill Road main gate
COMMENTS ― Many vouchers of this ubiquitous grass in grassland, brushy areas, and along roads. Earliest Jasper Ridge record 7/15/1962 “along San Francisquito Creek below dam” (Thomas 9922). Earliest Consortium record for San Mateo and Santa Clara counties: July 1954. A European species that escaped cultivation.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=jrbp+Phalaris+aquatica
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― an ancient Greek name used by Dioscorides for a kind of grass with shiny spikelets / relating to water

P. brachystachys Link | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen (JROH5380)
BLOOM ― May
LOCS ― A single location several meters uphill from the P. paradoxa site: 80m west of Escobar Gate downhill from Rd. F on north side of ridge near the serpentine/sandstone contact (Sector 35 D5)
COMMENTS ― Locally common annual canary grass first collected 5/25/2005
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― Grass Manual on the Web | http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=jrbp+Phalaris+brachystachys
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― an ancient Greek name used by Dioscorides for a kind of grass with shiny spikelets / brachysta'chys: with a short spike

P. californica Hook. & Arn. | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen (2 records)
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun
LOCS ― Abundant at a single location around the seep on the north side of the ridge. 37.40607 -122.22445; 570 ft (WGS84)
COMMENTS ― First vouchered by Herb Dengler 4/30/1961 JROH5381 at the upper margin of the above-mentioned seep. Dengler also recorded in his notebooks in the early 1960s plants growing in the seasonally wet meadow near the ridge top south of Trail 10 (Sector 33 B3-B4), which were not present in 2005 as confirmed by the author. However Dengler recorded on the label of JROH5381 "It persists in this area [the seep on the north side of the ridge] and I've not found it elsewhere on Jasper Ridge." The nearest known population to Jasper Ridge's is growing on Edgewood Preserve in the meadow south of the West Kiosk
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/show/?w=all&q=jrbp+Phalaris+californica
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― an ancient Greek name used by Dioscorides for a kind of grass with shiny spikelets / of California

P. lemmonii Vasey LEMMON'S CANARY GRASS | NATIVE ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen (JROH5382)
BLOOM ― April
TJM2 ― http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=37609
LOCS ― “Along a road”
COMMENTS ― Collected by John Thomas in 1970 “Along a road”; not reported since. There are no other Consortium records for the watershed or San Mateo Co.; known in our region from Saratoga, "in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains" and Camp Evers, a marsh 5 miles north of Santa Cruz
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=jrbp Phalaris lemmonii
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― an ancient Greek name used by Dioscorides for a kind of grass with shiny spikelets / after John Gill Lemmon (1832-1908), who with his wife Sara Allen Plummer Lemmon (1836-1923), collected plants throughout the American West. (see full entry in California Plant Names)

P. minor Retz. NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Undocumented report
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun
LOCS ― 0
COMMENTS ― Another Dengler report. A recent collection from Bear Creek at the Preserve boundary was redetermined to be a young P. aquatica; based on its tuberous base. If present historically, P. minor may have been a waif. There are, however, several Consortium records for the SF Cr. watershed 1927-1962 as well as for Crystal Springs
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― Grass Manual on the Web
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― an ancient Greek name used by Dioscorides for a kind of grass with shiny spikelets / small

P. paradoxa L. NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― May Jun
TJM2 ― http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=37611
LOCS ― A single location 80 m west of Escobar Gate downhill from Rd. F on north side of ridge near the serpentine/sandstone contact (Sector 35 D5)
COMMENTS ― Fewer than 100 plants growing with the Preserve’s largest population of Eryngium jepsonii in a seasonally wet area at the contact between serpentine and sandstone. First vouchered in 6/21/2011. First reported by Herb Dengler June 20, 1980 "6 plants within a 24-inch area, 100 yards north of the second exclosure. Winkie Lennihan identified this." John Thomas collected P. paradoxa on campus in 1956 "in a field along Escondido Rd." (DS393774)
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― an ancient Greek name used by Dioscorides for a kind of grass with shiny spikelets / paradoxical

PHLEUM TIMOTHY

P. pratense L. CULTIVATED TIMOTHY (waif at JRBP) | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ―Specimen (Consortium records for Jasper Ridge)
BLOOM ― May Jun Jul
LOCS ― Bear Creek, growing on exposed bars in the stream bed near the serpentine outcrop
COMMENTS ― Adventitious. Several plants reported for the first time 6/3/2009; not observed in subsequent years
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=jrbp+Phleum+pratense
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek phleos, an ancient name for a kind of swamp-growing grass / growing in meadows

PHRAGMITES

P. australis
ARUNDINOIDEAE ― Arundineae
STATUS ―Specimen (Consortium records for Jasper Ridge; Calflora)
LOCS ― Seasonally wet area on NE border of Preserve at former Boething Tree Nursery site
COMMENTS ― "Phragmites is interpreted here as a monotypic genus that has a worldwide distribution. Some taxonomists (e.g., Clayton 1970; Koyama 1987; Scholz and Bohling 2000) recognize 3-4 segregate species. Recent work has identified two different genotypes in North America (Saltonstall 2002) that preliminary data suggest may be morphologicaly distinct (see http://www.invasiveplants.net/). How these genotypes relate to the various segregate species that have been recognized is not yet known.
Plants of Phragmites are similar in overall appearance to Arundo, but the latter has subequal glumes, a glabrous rachilla, and hairy lemmas. Vegetatively, plants of Arundo, but not those of Phragmites, have a wedge-shaped, light to dark brown area at the base of the blades. They also tend to have thicker rhizomes, thicker and taller culms, and wider leaves than Phragmites, but there is some overlap. Phragmites is much more widely distributed than Arundo in North America." ― FNA
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― Flickr
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― Phragmi'tes: from the Greek phragma, "a fence or screen, hedge," hence growing in hedges. The genus Phragmites was published by Michel Adanson in 1763. (California Plant Names calflora.net)

PIPTATHERUM included in STIPA

PLEUROPOGON SEMAPHORE GRASS

P. californicus (Nees) Vasey | NATIVE ANNUAL or FACULTATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Meliceae
STATUS ― Specimen (JROH5394)
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun
LOCS ― Abundant in vernal pond (Sector 20 E5) west of the Sun Field Station road
COMMENTS ― First collected by Ann Lambrecht 5/1/2006. Growing in a vernal pond near Sand Hill Rd., this location is an excellent example how special habitats provide refuge for native plants. California semaphore grass, California oat grass (Danthonia californica), and California meadow barley (Hordeum brachyantherum) grow in and around the pond stratified by tolerance for standing water. All are normally in bloom by early May. Juncus phaeocephalus and Carex subbracteata are also present. California oat grass occupies the outer drier area around the depression and grades rather sharply to annual grassland dominated by Avena barbata and Bromus hordeaceus, though Stipa pulchra is sometimes a conspicuous member of the drier habitat. California semaphore grass was collected from Stanford lands in 1930 (POM284984) and from the vicinity of "Crystal Springs Lakes" in 1906 (DS111064). Semaphore grass has a conspicuously ornamented palea.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/show/?w=all&q=jrbp+Pleuropogon+
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― Pleuropo'gon: from the Greek pleuron, "side, rib, lateral," and pogon, "beard," referring to the awns at the base of the palea in some species / of Californica

POA BLUEGRASS

P. annua L. ANNUAL BLUEGRASS | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen (Consortium records for Jasper Ridge)
BLOOM ― Feb Mar Apr May Nov
TJM2 ― http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=38787
LOCS ― Rd D and Rd. F in serpentine; Rd. F in Sector 33-34; Rd. F in blue oak woodland; Whisky Hill gate; Trail 9 below Buckeye Alley (Sector 31 D3); Trail 11 in mixed woodland
COMMENTS ― Leaf blades transversely wrinkled; callus without web though lemma veins sometimes villous. Widespread in disturbed habitat such as roads and trails including roads through serpentine where plants are typically tiny, ~ 3 cm tall (Thomas 10466, 10551, 14260B, 20812)
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=jrbp+Poa+annua
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the classical Greek name poa, poie, or poia for "grass" or "pasture grass" / annual

P. bulbosa L. ssp. vivipara | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen (CCH) | Calflora
BLOOM ― April, May
TJM2 ― http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=70514
LOCS ― Trail 14, 5/2014, midpoint between dam and Rd C; two plants 4/2017 in the path to global change opposite visitor parking

COMMENTS ― First observed on the Preserve Trail 14, 5/2014; all plants removed.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=jrbp Poa bulbosa
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the classical Greek name poa, poie, or poia for "grass" or "pasture grass" /

P. howellii Vasey & Scribn. | NATIVE ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen (6 CCH recordsfor Jasper Ridge 1961-2013)
BLOOM ― Apr May
TJM2 ― http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=38804
LOCS ― Below Trail 1 twenty feet above San Francisquito Creek immediately above tiger lily site “where there is a seep beneath a large bay tree”; below dam in among redwoods near creek; Trail 9 in Prunus ilicifolia section; Rd E on steep north-facing bank Sector 31 C1; Trail 2 extension south of the Dengler Transect in Sector 25 where the trail makes a steep 5-foot climb passing a rocky place with poison oak; P.h appeared following trail improvement in this area
COMMENTS ― Rare (or uncommon and overlooked) on the Preserve; collected by Herb Dengler 5/8/1961, John Thomas 4/19/1964, and John Rawlings 2011-2013. Young or depauperate Melica imperfecta, which are common and widespread, may be mistaken in the field for P. howellii. Poa annua, which is very hairy on the lemma back margins but lacks a callus web can also be mistaken for P. howellii
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=jrbp+Poa+howellii
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the classical Greek name poa, poie, or poia for "grass" or "pasture grass" / named in honor of John Thomas Howell (1903-1994), assistant to Alice Eastwood and her successor as Curator of Botany of the California Academy of Sciences

P. pratensis L. ssp. pratensis KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen (Consortium records for Jasper Ridge) | Calflora
BLOOM ― May Jun
TJM2 ― http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=70514
LOCS ― Along Rd L SW end of Searsville Lake (Thomas 25228, 21028); Sun Field Station picnic area; east shore of Middle Lake; Trail 20 at “garden area” adjacent to (south) Douglas Iris Site; disturbed area around Caretaker’s residence/Corporation Yard (Sector 29 D3)
COMMENTS ― Occasional plants of this rhizomatous, cosmopolitan grass are found here and there but it is not well established in areas of the Preserve we frequent and doesn't form conspicuous turf
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/show/?q=jrbp+Poa+pratensis
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the classical Greek name poa, poie, or poia for "grass" or "pasture grass" / growing in meadows

P. secunda ssp. secunda ONE-SIDED BLUEGRASS | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
SYN ― Poa scabrella
STATUS ― Specimen (Consortium records for Jasper Ridge)
BLOOM ― Apr May Jun
TJM2 ― http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=70516
LOCS ― along Rd. F in serpentine (Area H) and throughout adjacent serpentine prairie (Sector 35); north side of Ridge, Area C, at the Brewer's onion site; Trs 5 and 6 in serpentine; Area C transect (Salvador) crossing Rd. F; Trail 15 (Sector 34 A3,D3,E3); scree slope in old quarry at west end of Tr. 12
COMMENTS ― Common in serpentine; occasional elsewhere. DH61089 is a robust specimen; plants this large are not seen in recent years. Habit varies from short plants with densely aggregated infl in open grassland to taller, more relaxed branching in partial shade (e.g., N end of Trail 5 growing from seams in a serpentine boulder). One sometimes sees the name Poa tenerrima or Poa gracillima misapplied to the latter form in the Outer Coast Range
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/show/?w=all&q=jrbp+Poa+secunda
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the classical Greek name poa, poie, or poia for "grass" or "pasture grass" / side-flowering

POLYPOGON BEARD GRASS

1. Glumes awnless ..... P. viridis
1' Glumes awned, awns 1–12 mm; lemmas awned
2. Ann; glume lobed; infl dense ..... P. monspeliensis
2' Per; glume lobes 0; infl. interrupted ..... P. interruptus

P. interruptus Kunth DITCH BEARD GRASS | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen (Consortium records for Jasper Ridge)
BLOOM ― May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct
TJM2 ― http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=39375
LOCS ― Face of dam; Tr. 13 Leonard’s Bridge-Causeway; Corte Madera Cr. delta; SF Creek at Dennis Martin site
COMMENTS ― Occasional in wet places. There are plants that act like annuals and are overall smaller than the typical P. interruptus growing in the dry bed of San Francisquito Creek easily seen near the Dennis Martin site and immediately downstream from the Rd C bridge across SF Creek (Rawlings1087). These plants have lemma awns about 1.5 mm long and glume awns less than 3 mm long with the larger prickles extending up the glume keels beyond mid-length (unlike those of P. monspeliensis).
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Polypogon+interruptus+jrbp
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek polys, "many," and pogon, "beard," alluding to the panicles which are hairy or bristly, i.e. "much bearded" / interrupted (the inflorescence) in some fashion

P. monspeliensis (L.) Desf. ANNUAL BEARD GRASS, RABBITFOOT GRASS | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen (Consortium records for Jasper Ridge)
BLOOM ― May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
TJM2 ― http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=39378
LOCS ― seep on the north side of the ridge (Sector 24 B3); seep in West Serpentine Chaparral; ditch across from Sun Field Station west parking lot; Area C transect (Salvador) crossing Rd. F; disturbed area around Caretaker’s residence/Corporation Yard (Sector 29 D3
COMMENTS ― Widespread and common in wet places, ditches, seasonally wet areas on and off serpentine. First local collection by LR Abrams 5/14/1901. Springer (1935) noted that annual beard grass was frequent near Searsville Lake edge from June to August
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=jrbp+Polypogon+monspeliensis
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek polys, "many," and pogon, "beard," alluding to the panicles which are hairy or bristly, i.e. "much bearded" / of Montpellier in southern France

P. viridis (Gouan) Breistr. WATER BEARD GRASS | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
SYN ― Agrostis semiverticillata (Forssk.) C. Chr., Agrostis viridis Gouan
STATUS ― Specimen (Consortium records for Jasper Ridge)
BLOOM ― May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
TJM2 ― http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=39379
LOCS ― widespread in dry creek beds of San Francisquito Creek (just below dam, low-flow crossing, near Dennis Martin site) and Bear Creek; along edge of Searsville lake in sandy soil; Tr. 13 Leonard’s Bridge-Causeway
COMMENTS ― Rhizomatous with finely scabrous glume backs that are conspicuous given adequate illumination and magnification
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES ― http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=jrbp+agrostis+viridis
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek polys, "many," and pogon, "beard," alluding to the panicles which are hairy or bristly, i.e. "much bearded"/green

SCRIBNERIA

S. bolanderi (Thurb.) Hack. | NATIVE ANNUAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― Mar Apr May
TJM2
LOCS ― Rd. F (NAD83 37.405580°,-122.225810°) vicinity of the oak island in road; bare zones in the margins of the serpentine prairie/chaparral traversed by Rd. F; openings in the serpentine chaparral west of the prairie at north end of the ridge (aka West Serpentine Chaparral); Area H bare zone at bottom of slope west of exclosure; bare area in serpentine along Rd D.
COMMENTS ― A monotypic Pacific Coast endemic. Occasional and easy to overlook, known locally only on serpentine; flowering stems typically 4-5 cm. Uncommon or overlooked in bioregion. Ecotonal and roads in serpentine, tolerates vernally wet areas. Crampton 1955 Scribneria in California
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― after Frank Lamson-Scribner (1851-1938) / after Henry Nicholson Bolander (1831-1897), a collector of plants in Yosemite National Park and California State Botanist in 1864.

SETARIA

S. viridis (L.) P. Beauv. GREEN BRISTLE GRASS | NATURALIZED ANNUAL
PANICOIDEAE ― Paniceae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Jul Aug Sep
TJM2
LOCS ― San Francisquito Creek bed at Dennis Martin Site.
COMMENTS ― Uncommon, summer blooming; possible bird seed mix escape.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― Seta'ria: from the Latin saeta, "a bristle or hair" in reference to the bristly spikelets / green

S. bicolor | NATIVE PERENNIAL
PANICOIDEAE ― Andropogoneae
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Apr May
TJM2
LOCS ― Searsville Reservoir
COMMENTS ― A few plants; possible Waif

STIPA including PIPTATHERUM

S. lepida Hitchc. FOOTHILL NEEDLEGRASS | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Stipeae
SYN ― Nassella lepida (Hitchc.) Barkworth
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― Apr May
TJM2
LOCS ― ubiquitous: Dense colony edge of Doug fir copse facing Sun Filed Station; Trail 15 NE side of trail in grassland/chaparral ecotone with Melica torreyana (Sector 34 B3); dense stands at eastern and lower ecotones (particularly vicinity of Vestal's exclosure) of Area H serpentine; west serpentine chaparral; across road from Sun Field Station visitor parking (Sector 30 B1,C1); just west of Sun Field Station staff parking; Trail 14 uphill from Searsville Dam w/ Melica imperfecta; old quarry at west end of Tr. 12; abundant at dry edges of Hermit Cabin Meadow (Sector 33 D4); abundant at dry edges of Upper Trail 10 Meadow
COMMENTS ― One of the most common and widespread native grasses on the Preserve it typically occurs on dry hillsides at the base of scrub, along trails through chaparral, around coyote brush colonizing annual grassland, and in chaparral/grassland ecotones. It frequently forms small cushions a few inches across, due to herbivory, in browse zones. According to FNA it occasionally hybridizes with S. pulchra but we have not noticed intergrades
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek stupe or stuppeion, "tow, flax, fiber, cordage," for the feathery or plumose inflorescences / elegant, graceful

S. miliacea (L.) Hoover var. miliacea SMILO GRASS | NATURALIZED PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Stipeae
SYN ― Piptatherum miliaceum (L.) Coss. ssp. miliaceum
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― May Jun Jul Aug
TJM2 | CAL-IPC
LOCS ― Corte Madera Cr channel at Leonard’s Bridge; Trail 13 along Leonard’s Bridge; Rd G (Sector 21 C3); San Francisquito Cr dry bed near Dennis Martin Site; Rd. L; depauperate plants along brick path to field station
COMMENTS ― Occasional in shady woods. Plump grains; lemma awns deciduous. Lvs/sheaths alternate green and stramineous. Earliest Consortium record for the SF Cr. watershed is 1954 "Palo Alto"
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek stupe or stuppeion, "tow, flax, fiber, cordage," for the feathery or plumose inflorescences / pertaining to millet, or millet-like

S. pulchra Hitchc. PURPLE NEEDLEGRASS | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Stipeae
SYN ― Nassella pulchra (Hitchc.) Barkworth
STATUS ― Specimen
BLOOM ― Mar Apr May
TJM2
LOCS ― ubiquitous: abundant in vicinity of Sun Field Station; JRGCE (Jasper Ridge Global Change) plots; west of vernal pond (Sector 29 E1); Main Gate on Sand Hill Road; Rd. F at Goya Gate fire truck turn-around (Sector 34 D5) and along road to N end of the Ridge; Trail 10; Trail 12; Trail 15 (Sector 35 A4); Area C transect (Salvador) crossing Rd. F; nice stand ~ 100 m along Rd B from Whiskey Hill Gate growing with Elymus triticoides
COMMENTS ― Widespread and common in serpentine and annual grassland in full sun and disturbed areas of dry sites (e.g., near the Sun Field Station in Santa Clara formation). According to FNA it occasionally hybridizes with S. lepida but we have not noticed intergrades. We have not found the S. pulchra look-alike S. manicata.
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from the Greek stupe or stuppeion, "tow, flax, fiber, cordage," for the feathery or plumose inflorescences / beautiful

TRISETUM

T. canescens Buckley | NATIVE PERENNIAL
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
STATUS ― Specimen | Calflora
BLOOM ― Apr May
TJM2
LOCS ― along boundary fence east of Escobar Gate under blue oaks; Trail 15 in the woods at the Escobar Gate end and also in shady margins north of the exclosure; West bank of Rd D south of Trail 7; 50 yards south of Hillside Lab on Trail 7 growing with Erigeron foliosus; uphill from Trail 8 (Sector 13 A5); small meadow w large coast live oak uphill near the end of Trail 2 (before extension); Trail 1 a few meters east of the first redwood grove; Rd. F blue oak woodland; Trail 20 at Douglas Iris Site at tip of peninsula; Several plants a few yards E of Rd C on north side of San Francisquito Creek under bay and live oak; Trail 13 Leonard’s Bridge-Causeway
COMMENTS ― Widespread but never abundant; sometimes short-lived. Hairs on lemma margins are conspicuous as are lemmas awns when geniculate
ILLUSTRATIONS & IMAGES Photo
GENUS & SPECIFIC NAME DERIVATION ― from tri, "three," and seta, "bristle, hair," referring to the three awns on the lemmas / covered with short gray or white hairs

VULPIA > FESTUCA

X SCHEDOLIUM > Branched Festuca perennis, a presumed hybrid of Festuca perennis and Festuca arundinacea

x Schedolium holmbergii (Dorfl.) Soreng & Terrell HYBRID FESCUE
Reference: Soreng, R.J. and E.E. Terrell. 1998. Taxonomic notes on Schedonorus, a segregate genus from Festuca or Lolium, with a new nothogenus, x Schedololium, and new combinations. Phytologia 83:85-88
POOIDEAE ― Poeae
SYN ― × Festulolium holmbergii
STATUS ― Specimen

Notes
Map locations and trail numbers reference is JRBP (2005) Sector Map Book of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve; some trail number changes made in 2011 appear on newer Preserve maps. Consult the photo archive for additional locations

References
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Amme, D. 2003. Nassella notes. Grasslands: A Publication of the California Native Grass Association, 13(4).
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Appendix 1. Floristic statistics

Comparison of Grass Flora with California Grass Flora in The Jepson Manual (TJM) 1993

Poaceae	Jasper Ridge Preserve	TJM 1993*	%
Genera	44	117	37%
Taxa (species, subsp, vars)	101	470	21%

*As reported in Table 6 “Comparison of comprehensive surveys of the California grass flora” in James Smith (2014) Field guide to grasses of California, UC Press.

Other Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve Grass Statistics

47 taxa (46.5%) are annuals (compared with 30% for California).
54 taxa (53.5%) are perennials (compared with 70% for California).
44 taxa (43.6%) are native (compared with 54.4% for California).
57 taxa (56.4%) are naturalized, native to other states or countries, prominently the barnyards of Spain (compared with 45.6% for California).
12 taxa are native annuals; 25.5% of all annuals.
32 taxa are native perennials; 59% of all perennials.
6 taxa are endemic to California plus CFP in SW Oregon and Baja Norte.

Appendix 2. Rejected reports

Bromus pseudolaevipes (CCH records for SMCo. & SCCo.) -- Vouchers now identified as B. carinatus
Eragrostis pilosa var. pilosa -- Voucher now identified as E. pectinacea
Festuca pratensis* -- Vouchers now identified as F. arundinacea
Hordeum jubatum -- Voucher now identified as Elymus multisetus
Melica geyeri -- Voucher now identified as Poa secunda. Melica geyeri is present at higher elevations in the watershed in Foothill Park along the Los Trancos Cr. Trail, and in Los Trancos Open Space Preserve.
Poa unilateralis -- Voucher now identified as Koeleria macrantha

Appendix 3. Grasses present within 50 x 50 m quadrats. Hobbs, RJ.; Yates S; Mooney, HA. 2007. Long-term data reveal complex dynamics in grassland in relation to climate and disturbance. Ecological Monographs: Vol. 77, No. 4, pp. 545-568. Presence is expressed as the number of years (out of 20) that a species was present within replicate plots in control (C), gopher exclosures (G), and rabbit exclosures (R). Cover is expressed as the maximum and minimum mean percent cover within 503 50 cm quadrats over the 20-year period between 1983 and 2003 in control plots, gopher exclosures, and rabbit exclosures. Frequency is expressed as the maximum and minimum percentage of quadrats the species occupied over the period 1983–2002 in control plots, gopher exclosures, and rabbit exclosures.

Appendix 4. McNaughton, SJ. 1968. Structure and Function in California Grasslands. Ecology 49:962-972. Methods and results. PDF extract http://trees.stanford.edu/PDF/mcnaughton1968.pdf

Appendix 5. Armstrong, JK.; Huenneke, LF. 1993. Spatial and Temporal Variation in Species Composition in California Grasslands: The Interaction of Drought and Substratum. http://trees.stanford.edu/PDF/armstrong1993.pdf

Appendix 6. Basic information for grass identification (Travis Columbus, 2022):

Annual or perennial
Sheath open or closed
Ligule a membrane or line of hairs
Inflorescence a spike, raceme, or panicle
Number of florets per spikelet
Presence and position of sterile/reduced florets (above or below fertile florets)
Number of lemma veins/nerves
Awn presence, number, and position
Disarticulation above or below glumes

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Oakmead Herbarium: Poaceae, order Poales

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