Interesting Facts
Common Names
Common Names in English:
Bristle-Leaved Redtop, Ruby Grass
Description
Genus Melinis
Annuals
or perennials
. Culms
tufted
, often decumbent
at the base
. Leaf sheaths
usually loose
; leaf blades linear
; ligule a ciliate
rim
. Inflorescence a panicle; pedicels slender, glabrous
or with a few long hairs
at the tip
. Spikelets
elliptic
or oblong
, laterally compressed
, hairy
or glabrous; lower glume
small or absent; upper glume as long as spikelet, membranous to papery
, 5-9-veined, acute, emarginate
or 2-lobed, awned
or awnless, sometimes gibbous
on the back and tapering to a beak
; lower floret staminate
or neuter
, lemma resembling the upper glume, 3-7-veined, palea with ciliate or scaberulous keels or absent; upper floret laterally compressed
, membranous to thinly cartilaginous
, readily deciduous. x = 9.
Twenty-two species: mainly in tropical
and S Africa; two species introduced throughout the tropics, including China.[1]
Physical Description
Flowers: Bloom Period: June, July, August, September. • Flower Color: mauve , pink, rose
Size/Age/Growth
Size: 6-12" tall.
Biology
Growth
Culture: Space 6-9" apart.
Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .
Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11. (map)
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Plantae
()
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
()
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
()
- Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Vascular Plants
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
()
- (Auct.) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Infraphylum:
Angiospermae
()
- Auct.
- Class:
Spermatopsida
()
- Brongniart, 1843
- Subclass:
Commelinidae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Superorder:
Juncanae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Order:
Poales
()
- Small, 1903
- Family:
Gramineae
()
- A.L. de Jussieu, 1789, nom. cons., nom. alt.
- Subfamily:
Panicoideae
()
- Tribe:
Paniceae
()
- Subtribe:
Melinidinae
()
- Genus:
Melinis
()
- Palisot de Beauvois, 1812
- Stinkgrass
- Specific epithet:
nerviglumis
- (Franchet) Zizka
- Botanical name: - Melinis nerviglumis (Franchet) Zizka
- Specific epithet:
nerviglumis
- (Franchet) Zizka
- Genus:
Melinis
(
- Subtribe:
Melinidinae
(
- Tribe:
Paniceae
(
- Subfamily:
Panicoideae
(
- Family:
Gramineae
(
- Order:
Poales
(
- Superorder:
Juncanae
(
- Subclass:
Commelinidae
(
- Class:
Spermatopsida
(
- Infraphylum:
Angiospermae
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Synonyms
Rhynchelytrum Nerviglume • Rhynchelytrum nerviglume (Franch.) Chiov. • Tricholaena Nerviglumis
Notes
An accepted name in the RHS Horticultural Database.
Similar Species
Members of the genus Melinis
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 5 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:
M. minutiflora (Molasses Grass) · M. nerviglumis (Bristle-Leaved Redtop) · M. nerviglumis 'Pink Crystals' (Bristle-Leaved Redtop) · M. nerviglumis 'Savannah' (Bristle-Leaved Redtop) · M. repens (Natal Grass)
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
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed March 27, 2012.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 16, 2008:
- Australian National Herbarium (CANB)
- Missouri Botanical Garden
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 5896232
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 15762834
- Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:945821-1
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 903437
Footnotes
- Shou-liang Chen & Sylvia M. Phillips "Melinis". in Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 500, 539. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
