Hilaria jamesii
| Hilaria jamesii | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Genus: | Hilaria |
| Species: | H. jamesii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Hilaria jamesii (Torr.) Benth.
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Pleuraphis jamesii Torr. | |
Hilaria jamesii (formerly Pleuraphis jamesii) is a species of grass known by the common name James' galleta.
Range and habitat
It is native to the southwestern United States, where it is widespread in scrub, woodland, grassland, and plateau habitat. It is tolerant of arid environments such as desert floors. It is common in the northern Mojave Desert.[1]
Growth pattern
It is a rhizomatous perennial grass producing bunches of erect stems about 1 mm wide and up to about 60 cm in maximum height. The woody rhizome is shallow, spreading just under the soil surface, but it may reach 6 ft in length and when dense, helps the grass form a sod.[2] Its stems are not fuzzy like those of its relative, Hilaria rigida.[1]
Flowers
The inflorescence is a series of hairy, rectangular[citation needed] spikelets.
Fruit
The grass produces relatively little viable seed and spreads mostly via its rhizome.[2]
References
- ^ a b Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam Mackay, 2nd Ed. 2013, p. 285
- ^ a b US Forest Service Fire Ecology
External links
- Chloridoideae
- Grasses of Mexico
- Grasses of the United States
- Native grasses of California
- Native grasses of the Great Plains region
- Native grasses of Nebraska
- Native grasses of Oklahoma
- Native grasses of Texas
- Flora of the Southwestern United States
- Flora of the California desert regions
- Flora of the Great Basin
- Flora of Nevada
- Flora of New Mexico
- Flora of Wyoming
- Natural history of the Mojave Desert
- Chloridoideae stubs