Interesting Facts
Description
Genus Beckmannia
Annual
or perennial
. Leaf blades
linear
, flat; ligule membranous. Inflorescence composed of many unilateral
racemes
along a central axis; racemes dense, the lower often branched; spikelets
subsessile
, closely imbricate, biseriate
. Spikelets orbicular
, disarticulating
below glumes
, bisexual
floret 1, with or without a second staminate
floret above it; rachilla extension
absent; glumes equal, gibbously inflated
, enclosing all but apex of floret, not or weakly keeled
, herbaceous with thinner white margins
, 3-veined, apex obtuse
or acute; floret callus short, glabrous
; lemma lanceolate, cartilaginous
, rounded
on back, 5-veined, apex acute or tapering to a cusplike awn-point; palea somewhat shorter than lemma. Caryopsis terete
.
Two species: temperate regions
of the N hemisphere; one species in China.
The second species in the genus, Beckmannia eruciformis (Linnaeus) Host, occurs from Europe and the Mediterranean region to C Asia and E Russia. It is a perennial with short, creeping
rhizomes, sometimes with tuberous
basal internodes, spikelets usually with 2 florets
, globose
, inflated glumes, and longer
anthers
1.2-1.8 mm.
[1]
Taxonomy
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
)
- Plants
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
()
- Vascular Plants
- Class:
Spermatopsida
()
- Order:
Poales
()
- Genus:
Beckmannia
()
- Host, 1805
- Sloughgrass
- Specific epithet:
minor
- Botanical name: - Beckmannia minor
- Specific epithet:
minor
- Genus:
Beckmannia
(
- Order:
Poales
(
- Class:
Spermatopsida
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
Similar Species
Members of the genus Beckmannia
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 1 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:
B. syzigachne (American Sloughgrass)
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
Notes
Contributors
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed November 13, 2007. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from provider.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 13, 2007:
- Marine Science Institute, UCSB, Paleobiology Database
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 8427195
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 16348701
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 2371387
Footnotes
- Sheng-lian Lu & Sylvia M. Phillips "Beckmannia". in Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 6, 316, 364. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
