- Family:
- Poaceae Barnhart
- Genus:
- Bouteloua Lag.
Bouteloua gracilis (Kunth) Lag. ex Griffiths

[GB]
- Morphology General Habit
- Perennial; caespitose. Culms erect, or decumbent; 25-60 cm long. Culm-nodes glabrous, or pubescent. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades 5-10 cm long; 1-2.5 mm wide.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
- Inflorescence composed of racemes. Racemes 1-3(-4); single, or borne along a central axis; spreading; arcuate; unilateral; 1.5-5 cm long. Central inflorescence axis 2-5 cm long; tip without extension, or subulate. Rhachis semiterete; scabrous on surface. Spikelet packing broadside to rhachis; crowded. Spikelets pectinate; solitary. Fertile spikelets sessile.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
- Spikelets comprising 1 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets cuneate; laterally compressed; 5-6 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Floret callus pilose.
- Fertile
- Spikelets comprising 1 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets cuneate; laterally compressed; 5-6 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Floret callus pilose.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
- Glumes persistent; similar; reaching apex of florets; thinner than fertile lemma; gaping. Lower glume lanceolate; 3-3.5 mm long; 0.6 length of upper glume; membranous; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Lower glume primary vein smooth, or scabrous; eciliate, or ciliate. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex setaceously attenuate. Upper glume lanceolate; 5-6 mm long; 1 length of adjacent fertile lemma; membranous; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Upper glume primary vein smooth to scabrous; eciliate to ciliate. Upper glume lateral veins absent. Upper glume apex setaceously attenuate.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
- Fertile lemma oblong; 4-6 mm long; coriaceous; keeled; 3 -veined. Lemma surface pubescent. Lemma apex lobed; 3 -fid; with outer lobes shorter and with central lobe bidentate; incised 0.3 of lemma length; awned; 3 -awned. Principal lemma awn from a sinus; 1-3 mm long overall. Lateral lemma awns arising on inner edge of lobes; 0.5-2 mm long; shorter than principal. Palea 2 -veined. Palea keels ciliolate. Palea apex with excurrent keel veins. Rhachilla extension pubescent; hairy at tip. Apical sterile florets 1(-2) in number; barren; cuneate; 0.4 mm long. Apical sterile lemmas lobed; 2 -fid; obtuse; awned; 3 -awned. Apical sterile lemma awns 2-3 mm long.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
- Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; 2.5-3 mm long. Embryo 0.75 length of caryopsis.
- Distribution
- North America: western Canada, northwest USA, north-central USA, northeast USA, southwest USA, south-central USA, southeast USA, and Mexico.
- Reference
- Cynodonteae. Gould.
Native to:
Alberta, Arizona, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Manitoba, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southwest, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Introduced into:
Bangladesh, China North-Central, China Southeast, Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Saudi Arabia, South Carolina
- Actinochloa gracilis (Kunth) Willd. ex Roem. & Schult.
- Atheropogon gracilis (Kunth) Spreng.
- Atheropogon oligostachyus Nutt.
- Bouteloua gracilis f. pallida (Beal) B.Boivin
- Bouteloua gracilis var. stricta (Vasey) Hitchc.
- Bouteloua major Vasey
- Bouteloua oligostachya (Nutt.) Torr. ex A.Gray
- Bouteloua oligostachya var. major Vasey
- Bouteloua oligostachya var. pallida Beal
- Bouteloua stricta Vasey
- Chondrosum gracile Kunth
- Chondrosum gracile var. polystachyum Nees
- Chondrosum oligostachyum (Nutt.) Torr.
- Eutriana gracilis (Kunth) Trin.
- Eutriana oligostachya (Nutt.) Kunth
- English
- Blue Grama
Bouteloua gracilis (Kunth) Lag. ex Griffiths appears in other Kew resources:
Date | Reference | Identified As | Barcode | Type Status | Has image? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pringle, C.G. [407], Mexico | Chondrosum gracile | K000309012 | Yes |
First published in Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 14: 375 (1912)
Accepted by
- Allred, K.W. (2012). Flora Neomexicana, ed. 2, 1: 1-599. Range Science Herbarium, Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Not accepted by
- Clayton, W.D., Harman, K.T. & Williamson, H. (2006). World Grass Species - Synonymy database The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. [Cited as Chondrosum gracile.]
Literature
Kew Backbone Distributions
- Cope, T.A., Knees, S.G. & Miller, A.G. (2007). Flora of the Arabian peninsula and Socotra 5(1): 1-387. Edinburgh University Press.
- Dávila, P., Mejia-Saulés, M.T., Gómez-Sánchez, N., Valdés-Reyna, J., Ortíz, J.J., Morín, C., Castrejón, J. & Ocampo, A. (2006). Catálogo de las Gramíneas de México: 1-671. CONABIO, México city.
- Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2003). Flora of North America North of Mexico 25: 1-781. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford.
- Mostaph, M.K. & Uddin, S.B. (2013). Dictionary of plant names of Bangladesh, Vasc. Pl.: 1-434. Janokalyan Prokashani, Chittagong, Bangladesh.
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GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
-
Herbarium Catalogue Specimens
Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
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Kew Backbone Distributions
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
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Kew Living Collection Database
Common Names from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Living Collection https://www.kew.org/
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Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0