Phleum

Phleum* Sp.Pl. 59 (1753).

Derivation:. From Greek phleos, a name for an unidentified marsh reed.

Key references (keys and floras):. C.A.Gardner, Flora of Western Australia 1 Gramineae 146–147 (1952); J.P.Jessop, Flora of South Australia 4: 1923 (1986); B.K.Simon, Key to Australian Grasses 144–145 (1993); S.W.L.Jacobs and K.L.McClay, Flora of New South Wales 4: 568–569 (1993); N.G.Walsh, Flora of Victoria 2: 501 (1994); D.I.Morris, Student's Flora of Tasmania 4B: 285–286 (1994); E.Edgar and H.E.Connor, Flora of New Zealand 5: 286–287 (2000); D.Sharp and B.K.Simon, AusGrass (2002); J.P.Jessop, Grasses of South Australia 244 (2006); S.W.L.Jacobs, R.D.B.Whalley & D.J.B.Wheeler, Grasses of New South Wales, 4th ed, 339–340 (2008); A.Wilson (ed.), Flora of Australia 44A: Poaceae 2: 243–244 (2009).

W.D.Clayton & S.A.Renvoize, Genera Graminum (1986), genus (221).

Naturalised. 15 species, from temperate Eurasia, America. 3 species in Australia, WA, SA, Qld, NSW, Vic, and Tas. Also New Zealand.

Habit. Annual or perennial, rhizomatous or stoloniferous or tufted or decumbent. Leaf blades narrow. Ligule an unfringed membrane.

Inflorescence. Inflorescence paniculate (spike like), a spike-like panicle.

Spikelets. Spikelets 1 flowered, with 1 fertile floret, solitary; with naked rachilla extension, or with rachilla terminating in a floret. Fertile spikelets strongly laterally compressed, disarticulating above glumes.

Glumes. Glumes more or less equal, long relative to adjacent lemmas (exceeding them), pointed, shortly awned, keeled, similar (membranous, the margins overlapping for most of their length). Lower glume 3 nerved. Upper glume 3 nerved.

Florets. Fertile florets 1. Lemmas less firm than glumes (membranous), not becoming indurated, entire at apex, blunt (truncate or obtuse), muticous, 5–7 nerved, hairy or glabrous (glabrous to densely ciliate). Palea relatively long, entire to apically notched, 1 nerved or 2 nerved, not keeled. Callus short. Lodicules 2. Stamens 3. Grain small. Hilum short. Embryo small.

Kranz Anatomy. C3.

2n = 10 (rarely) or 14 or 28 or 42, 2, 4, and 6 ploid, commonly adventive.

Habitat. Mostly mesophytic. Meadows and dry places. Species of open habitats.

Classification. Pooideae; Poeae.

Types Species. P. pratense L.

Biogeographic Element. Clifford & Simon 1981, Simon & Jacobs 1990: Naturalised.

AVH 2011

Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith