Pleuropogon hooverianus
Encyclopedia
Pleuropogon hooverianus is a rare species of grass
known by the common name North Coast semaphoregrass. It is endemic to northern California
, where it is known from Mendocino
, Marin
, and Sonoma Counties
. It grows in moist marsh
y areas and shady redwood forests. It is a erect perennial grass growing to a maximum height between one and 1.6 meters. The inflorescence
bears widely spaced narrowly cylindrical spikelets which hang sideways off the stem, resembling semaphore signals
. Each spikelet may be up to 4.5 centimeters long and may contain up to 16 flowers.
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 North Coast semaphoregrass. It is endemic to northern 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...
, where it is known from Mendocino
Mendocino County, California
Mendocino County is a county located on the north coast of the U.S. state of California, north of the greater San Francisco Bay Area and west of the Central Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 87,841, up from 86,265 at the 2000 census...
, Marin
Marin County, California
Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
, and Sonoma Counties
Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....
. It grows in moist marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
y areas and shady redwood forests. It is a erect perennial grass growing to a maximum height between one and 1.6 meters. 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...
bears widely spaced narrowly cylindrical spikelets which hang sideways off the stem, resembling semaphore signals
Flag semaphore
Semaphore Flags is the system for conveying information at a distance by means of visual signals with hand-held flags, rods, disks, paddles, or occasionally bare or gloved hands. Information is encoded by the position of the flags; it is read when the flag is in a fixed position...
. Each spikelet may be up to 4.5 centimeters long and may contain up to 16 flowers.