Aristida Linnaeus. Common name: Three-awn Grass.
A genus of about 250-300 species, widespread in the tropics, subtropics, and warm temperate zones. Cerros-Tlatilpa, Columbus, & Barker (2011) discuss the phylogeny of the genus.
Subfamily: Aristidoideae. Tribe: Aristideae. clade: "PACMAD".ID notes: The spikelets consist of one floret, the most conspicuous portions being the 3 awns of the lemmas (these straight or sometimes coiled). The awns must be dry and relatively mature to assume their characteristic positions (immature awns and moist mature awns are erect and parallel). It is sometimes useful to dry a collection unpressed. Beware; however, that drying followed by dispersal can take place very quickly under the right conditions (such as the dashboard of a hot car!).
References: Allred (1984); Allred (1985); Allred (1986); Allred (2003d) In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2003a); Hall & Thieret (2003) In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2003a); Henrard (1929); Kesler, Anderson, & Hermann (2003); Peet (1993); Ward (2001); Wilder & McCollum (2023). Show full citations.
Hover over a shape, letter, icon, or arrow on the map for definition or see the legend. Data for arrows not developed for genera and families which may have species only occurring outside the flora area.
© Keith Bradley | Aristida condensata | Original Image ⭷
© Richard & Teresa Ware | Aristida tuberculosa CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
© Bruce Sorrie | Aristida beyrichiana | Original Image ⭷
© Aidan Campos | Aristida beyrichiana source | Original Image ⭷
© Scott Ward | Aristida beyrichiana | Original Image ⭷