Glyceria

Glyceria  Prodr. 179 (1810).

Derivation:. From Greek glykeros (sweet), alluding to the sweet herbage and seeds of G. fluitans.

Key references (keys and floras):. G.Bentham, Flora Australiensis 7: 656–659 (1878); C.A.Gardner, Flora of Western Australia 1 Gramineae 100–102 (1952); J.C.Tothill and J.B.Hacker, Grasses of Southern Queensland 252–253 (1983); J.P.Jessop, Flora of South Australia 4:1891–1892(1986); B.K.Simon, Key to Australian Grasses 122–123 (1993); S.W.L.Jacobs and K.L.McClay, Flora of New South Wales 4: 617–619 (1993); N.G.Walsh, Flora of Victoria 2: 441–443 (1994); D.I.Morris, Student's Flora of Tasmania 4B: 227–231 (1994); E.Edgar and H.E.Connor, Flora of New Zealand 5: 216–223 (2000); D.Sharp and B.K.Simon, AusGrass (2002); J.P.Jessop, Grasses of South Australia 176–179 (2006); S.W.L.Jacobs, R.D.B.Whalley & D.J.B.Wheeler, Grasses of New South Wales, 4th ed, 269–271 (2008); A.Wilson (ed.), Flora of Australia 44A: Poaceae 2: 72–78 (2009).

W.D.Clayton & S.A.Renvoize, Genera Graminum (1986), genus (158).

Native and naturalised. 40 species, from cosmopolitan. 7 species in Australia, WA, SA, NSW, Vic, and Tas. Also New Zealand.

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

Inflorescence. Inflorescence paniculate, an open panicle with branches ending in single spikelets, open.

Spikelets. Spikelets laterally compressed, more than 2 flowered, with 2 or more fertile florets; with naked rachilla extension. Fertile spikelets disarticulating above glumes.

Glumes. Glumes unequal to more or less equal, shorter than spikelet, shorter than adjacent lemmas, pointed or blunt, awnless, non-keeled, similar (herbaceous). Lower glume 1–5 nerved. Upper glume 1–5 nerved.

Florets. Fertile florets 3–16. Lemmas similar in texture to glumes to decidedly firmer than glumes (membranous to thinly leathery), not becoming indurated, entire at apex or incised, when entire pointed or blunt, muticous, (5–)7(–11) nerved, with nerves non-confluent, glabrous, not keeled. Palea relatively long, entire to apically notched, awnless, without apical setae or with apical setae, thinner than lemma, 2 nerved. Palea keels sometimes slightly winged or wingless. Distal incomplete florets underdeveloped. Callus short, blunt. Stamens 1 or 3. Grain small, longitudinally grooved, compressed dorsiventrally. Hilum long-linear. Embryo small.

Kranz Anatomy. C3.

2n = 20, 28, 40, 56, and 60, 2, 4, and 6 ploid (and aneuploids), commonly adventive.

Habitat. Hydrophytic to helophytic.

Classification. Pooideae; Meliceae.

Notes. A homogeneous genus often difficult to distinguish from Puccinellia. Species with plump spikelets could be mistaken for Briza (Clayton and Renvoize. 1986).

Types Species. G. fluitans (L.) R.Br.

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

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