Imperata brevifolia
Encyclopedia
Imperata brevifolia is a species of grass
known by the common name California satintail. It is native to the southwestern United States from California
to Texas
and northern Mexico, where it grows in arid regions where water is available.
Imperata brevifoliais a perennial grass growing from a hard rhizome
to heights near 1.5 meters. The flat leaves are up to 50 centimeters long and 1.5 wide. The inflorescence
is a narrow, cylindrical white plume up 10 to 30 centimeters long. It is filled thickly with silky white hairs and dotted with dark speckles which are the orange-brown anthers
and purplish-brown stigmas
of the spikelets.
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
known by the common name California satintail. It is native to the southwestern United States from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and northern Mexico, where it grows in arid regions where water is available.
Imperata brevifoliais a perennial grass growing from a hard rhizome
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
to heights near 1.5 meters. The flat leaves are up to 50 centimeters long and 1.5 wide. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a narrow, cylindrical white plume up 10 to 30 centimeters long. It is filled thickly with silky white hairs and dotted with dark speckles which are the orange-brown anthers
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
and purplish-brown stigmas
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
of the spikelets.