Neostapfia

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}} {{Italic title}} {{Speciesbox |name = Colusa grass |image = Neostapfia.jpg |status = LT |status_system = ESA |status_ref = |display_parents = 4 |genus = Neostapfia |parent_authority = Burtt Davy |species = colusana |authority = Burtt Davy<ref name=jepson>[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=34576 Jepson (JM2): ''Neostapfia colusana'']</ref> |synonyms_ref = <ref>[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/synonomy.do?name_id=425794 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]</ref> |synonyms = *''Stapfia'' Burtt Davy 1898, illegitimate name not Chodat 1897 (a green alga in family Tetrasporaceae) *''Davyella'' Hack. *''Stapfia colusana'' Burtt Davy *''Anthochloa colusana'' (Burtt Davy) Scribn. *''Davyella colusana'' (Burtt Davy) Hack. }}

'''''Neostapfia''''' is a genus of endemic Californian bunchgrasses, in the subfamily Chloridoideae of the grass family, Poaceae.<ref name=usda>[http://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile?symbol=NECO2 USDA: ''Neostapfia colusana'']</ref><ref name=jepson/><ref>[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6094082#page/145/mode/1up Davy, Joseph Burtt. 1898. "Stapfia, a new genus of Meliceae, and other noteworthy grasses." Erythea 6 (11): 109-113], text.</ref><ref>[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6094082#page/144/mode/1up Davy, Joseph Burtt. 1898. "Stapfia, a new genus of Meliceae, and other noteworthy grasses." Erythea 6 (11): plate 1], line drawings of ''Neostapfia colusana'', named as ''Stapfia colusana''</ref><ref>[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5916250#page/61/mode/1up Davy, Joseph Burtt 1899. "Concerning ''Stapfia''." Erythea 7 (43)]</ref> The only known species is '''''Neostapfia colusana''''', with the common name '''Colusa grass'''.<ref name=jepson/>

==Distribution== ''Neostapfia colusana'' is endemic to the Central Valley of California, in the northern section's Sacramento Valley and in the southern section's San Joaquin Valley.<ref name=jepson/> The bunchgrass grows in vernal pools, which are seasonal shallow freshwater ponds.

It is native to the Central Valley counties of Glenn, Colusa, Yolo, Solano, Stanislaus, and Merced.<ref>[http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Neostapfia+colusana Calflora Database: ''Neostapfia colusana''], with county distribution maps.</ref><ref>[http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Neostapfia%20colusana.png Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution maps for ''Neostapfia colusana'']</ref>

This rare grass is a federally listed threatened species in the United States.<ref>[http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Neostapfia+colusana The Calflora Database: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals, including the Consortium of California Herbaria. 2015. Berkeley, California]</ref><ref name=usda/>

==Description== ''Neostapfia colusana'' is a clumping bunchgrass with distinctive cylindrical inflorescences covered in flat spikelets. The inflorescences are said to resemble tiny ears of corn. They fruit in grains covered in a gluey secretion, and when a plant is mature, each clump becomes brown and sticky with the exudate. The genus was named for botanist Otto Stapf.

===Conservation=== The plant is limited to vernal pool habitats, a type of ecosystem that is increasingly rare as Central Valley land is consumed by development and agriculture, and damaged by flood-control regimens and other alterations of hydrology.<ref>[http://northcoastcnps.org/cgi-bin/inv/inventory.cgi/Go?_id=neostapfia_colusana&sort=DEFAULT&search=Neostapfia%20colusana California Native Plant Society Rare Plant Profile]</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links== *[http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Neostapfia+colusana Calflora Database: ''Neostapfia colusana'' (Colusa grass, Colusagrass)] *[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=34576 Jepson eFlora (JM2): ''Neostapfia colusana''] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110611123225/http://herbarium.usu.edu/webmanual/info2.asp?name=Neostapfia_colusana&type=treatment Grass Manual Profile: ''Neostapfia''] *[https://archive.today/20130415100555/http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Neostapfia+colusana The Nature Conservancy — ''Neostapfia colusana''] *[http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&where-taxon=Neostapfia+colusana UC Photos gallery — ''Neostapfia colusana'']

Category:Chloridoideae Category:Endemic flora of California Category:Native grasses of California Category:Bunchgrasses of North America Category:Natural history of the Central Valley (California) Category:Monotypic Poaceae genera Category:Taxa named by Joseph Burtt Davy