Grama grass
Display parents3
Parent authorityStapf
TaxonBouteloua
AuthorityLag. 1805 not Hornem. ex P. Beauv. 1812[1][2]
Type speciesBouteloua racemosa
Type species authorityLag.

Bouteloua is a genus of plants in the grass family Poaceae.[3][4] Members of the genus are commonly known as grama grass.[5]

Description

Bouteloua includes both annual and perennial grasses, which frequently form stolons.[6] Species have an inflorescence of 1 to 80 racemes or spikes positioned alternately on the culm (stem). The rachis (stem) of the spike is flattened. The spikelets are positioned along one side of the spike. Each spikelet contains one fertile floret, and usually one sterile floret.[7]

Taxonomy

The genus was first described by Mariano Lagasca in 1805.[8] It was named for Claudio and Esteban Boutelou, 19th-century Spanish botanists.[9][10] David Griffiths produced a 1912 monograph on the genus.[6]

Species

Species of Bouteloua include:[8][5][11][12][13]

Distribution

Bouteloua is found only in the Americas, with most diversity centered in the southwestern United States.[6] It also occurs in the Ciénaga de Zapata Biosphere Reserve of Cuba.[14]

Uses

Many species are important livestock forage, especially Bouteloua gracilis (blue grama).[6]

See also

References

  1. ^
  2. ^
  3. ^ Lagasca y Segura, Mariano. 1805. Variedades de Ciencias, Literatura y Artes 2(4,21): 134
  4. ^ Watson L, Dallwitz MJ. (2008). "The grass genera of the world: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval; including synonyms, morphology, anatomy, physiology, phytochemistry, cytology, classification, pathogens, world and local distribution, and references". The Grass Genera of the World. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
  5. ^
  6. ^ Gould, Frank W. (1951). "Grasses of Southwestern United States". University of Arizona Bulletin. Tucson: University of Arizona. pp. 139–140.
  7. ^
  8. ^ "Bouteloua Lag..". 328303-2. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  9. ^ Peterson, P. M. & Y. Herrera-Arrieta. 2001. Bouteloua. In Catalogue of New World Grasses (Poaceae): II. Subfamily Chloridoideae. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 41: 20–33
  10. ^ Gould, F. W. 1980. The genus Bouteloua (Poaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 66(3): 348–416
  11. ^ "Species Records of Bouteloua". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on 2009-05-08. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
  12. ^
  13. ^ Gould, F. W. & R. Moran. 1981. The grasses of Baja California, Mexico. Memoir San Diego Society of Natural History 12: 1–140
  14. ^ Ciénaga de Zapata National Park, on whc.unesco.org.