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Nolina parryi

(Palmilla De Parry)

Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in English:

Bear Grass, Giant Nolina, Palmilla De Parry, Parry Nolina, Parry Saccahuista, Parry's Beargrass, Parrys Nolina

Common Names in Spanish:

Palmilla De Parry

Description

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Genus Nolina

Plants perennial , cespitose or arborescent , acaulescent to short-caulescent, scapose , from branched, woody caudices or bulblike structures; usually forming colonies with few to many rosettes. Stems to 25 dm. Leaves forming rosettes; blade linear , not rigid or fibrous , bases broadly expanding, margins serrulate or entire. Scape 0.5-25 dm. Inflorescences paniculate , rarely racemose, 3-18 dm; bracts caducous or occasionally persistent . Flowers 2-5 per node, functionally unisexual , pistillate flowers with staminodes, staminate flowers with reduced pistils; tepals white to cream or tan, 1.3-5 mm, apex glandular ; ovary superior; pedicel jointed near middle . Fruits capsular , 3-locular, 3-lobed, thin-walled or sometimes firm-walled, often inflated , mostly notched at base and apex or rounded distally; dehiscent , often splitting irregularly. Seeds closely or loosely invested in capsules, globose , turgid . x = 19.

Species ca. 30: North America (se and sw United States), n and nc Mexico.

In areas of west Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, the species of Nolina are not always well defined. There is variation in the presence or absence of marginal teeth on the leaves and placement of the inflorescences within or beyond the leaves. Collectors should take good notes about the plant habit and morphology and include these with their collections . Further study is needed on Nolina throughout its range . Some species of Nolina are extremely infrequent. Some are on federal and/or state rare and endangered species lists , and possibly some of those listed with a state should be listed federally.

J. C. Dice (1988) studied section Arborescens of Nolina in the United States, and presented extensive descriptions and discussion of N. bigelovii, N. parryi, N. cismontana, and N. interrata.[1]

Physical Description

Species Nolina parryi

Plants caulescent ; rosettes from woody, branched caudices and forming small colonies. Stems 5-21 dm. Leaves 65-220 per rosette; blade wiry, upright, or lax , 50-140 cm × 20-40 mm, rarely glaucous; bases broad, spoon-shaped, 5-16.5 cm wide; margins serrulate , not filiferous . Scape 4-17 dm, 26-90 mm diam. at base. Inflorescences compound paniculate , 9-18 × 20-130 cm; bracts persistent , 15-36 cm, papery ; bractlets laciniate , to 10 mm, fragile. Flowers: tepals 2.5-5 mm; fertile stamens: filaments 3-4 mm, anthers 1.3-1.8 mm; infertile stamens: filaments 1-2.5 mm, anthers 0.4-0.5 mm; pedicel erect , proximal to joint 0.5-2 mm, distal to joint 1-2 mm. Capsules thin-walled, 9-13 × 8-11 mm, notched basally and apically. Seeds reddish brown, ovoid to oblong , bursting ovary wall, 3-4 ´ 2-3 mm. 2n = 38. [source]

When P. A. Munz and J. C. Roos (1950) named Nolina parryi subsp. wolfii, a mountain woodland plant, the related coastal entity became known as N. parryi subsp. parryi. J. C. Dice (1988) determined that the mountain entity, not the coastal one, was probably the basis for Watson's N. parryi. Consequently, Dice reduced subsp. wolfii to synonymy under subsp. parryi, which left the coastal plants without a distinguishing name . Dice has named the plants as a separate species, N. cismontana. [source]

Habit: Tree , Shrub , Subshrub

Flowers: Bloom Period: February, March, April. • Flower Color: near white, white

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 8-10' tall.

Habitat

Rocky slopes of desert and pinyon-juniper woodlands; 900--2100 m [2].

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 1,966 meters (0 to 6,450 feet).[3]

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Space 4-6' apart.

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Moisture: Drought Tolerance: High

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11. (map)

Taxonomy

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Unambiguous Synonyms

  1. N. bigelovii (Torrey) S. Watson Var. parryi (S. Watson) L. D. Benson
  2. N. bigelovii var. wolfii (Munz) L. D. Benson
  3. N. bigelovii wolfii (Munz) E. Murray
  4. N. parryi wolfii Munz
  5. N. wolfii (Munz) Munz
  6. Nolina bigelovii parryi (S. Wats.) L. Benson
  7. Nolina bigelovii parryi (S. Watson) E. Murray
  8. Nolina bigelovii var. parryi (S. Wats.) L. Benson
  9. Nolina bigelovii var. wolfii (Munz) L. Benson
  10. Nolina parryi wolfii Munz
  11. Nolina wolfii (Munz) Munz


Notes

Publishing author : L.D.Benson Basionym author: (Munz) Publishing author: P.A.Munz Publication : Fl. S. Calif.: 865 (1974) Basionym author: (P.A.Munz) Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Nolina

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 57 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

N. affinis · N. altamiranoana · N. arenicola (Transpecos Beargrass) · N. atopocarpa (Florida Bear-Grass) · N. beldingi · N. beldingii · N. beldingi var. deserticola · N. bigelovii (Bigelow's Bear-Grass) · N. bigelovii parryi · N. bigelovii var. bigelovii (Bigelow's Nolina) · N. bigelovii wolfii · N. brittoniana (Britton´s Bear-Grass) · N. caudata · N. cespitifera · N. cismontana (California Beargrass) · N. durangensis · N. elegans · N. erumpens (Foothill Bear-Grass) · N. erumpens var. compacta · N. georgiana (Georgia Bear-Grass) · N. gracilis · N. greenei · N. greenii · N. guatemalensis (Curly Nolina) · N. hartwegiana · N. histrix · N. hookeri · N. humilis · N. interrata (Dehesa Beargrass) · N. javanica · N. juncea · N. lindheimerana · N. lindheimeriana (Devil´s-Shoestring) · N. loderi · N. longifolia (Oaxacan Tree Nolina) · N. matapensis (Sonoran Tree Bear Grass) · N. micrantha (Chaparral Bear Grass) · N. microcarpa (Small-Seeded Beargrass) · N. nelsoni · N. nelsonii (Nelsons Bear Grass) · N. palmeri · N. palmeri brandegeei · N. palmeri var. brandegeei · N. paradoxa · N. parryi (Palmilla De Parry) · N. parryi wolfii · N. parviflora · N. pliabilis · N. pumila · N. recurvata (Elephant's Foot Tree) · N. recurvata var. albomarginata 'Yellow Star' (Pony Tail Palm) · N. rigida · N. stricta · N. texana (Devils Shoestring) · N. tuberculata · N. watsonii · N. wolfii

More Info

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Further Reading

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  • Dice, J. C. 1988. Systematic Studies in the Nolina bigelovii-N. parryi (Nolinaceae) Complex. M.S. thesis. San Diego State University.
  • Trelease, W. 1911. The desert group Nolineae. Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc. 50: 404-443.

    • Notes

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    Contributors

    Data Sources

    Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 28, 2008:

    Identifiers

    Footnotes

    1. William J. Hess "Nolina". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 413, 414, 415, 416, 419. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
    2. "Nolina parryi". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 421. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
    3. Mean = 592.250 meters (1,943.077 feet), Standard Deviation = 624.870 based on 16 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
    Last Revised: 2009-09-02