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• Bouteloua repens

Bouteloua repens — slender grama

Facts

Slender grama is native to the area between Arizona and northern South America. It is only an occasional visitor to New England, having been collected in waste and disturbed areas in Massachusetts and Maine.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats)

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Anther number

  3

  Awn on glume

  • the glume has an awn
  • the glume has no awn

  Bristles below spikelets

  no

  Floret lower bract texture

  the lemma is thin and flexible

  Floret types within spikelet

  there are at least two distinct forms of florets within one spikelet

  Glume relative length

  neither glume is quite as long as all of the florets

  Glume veins

  1

  Glumes per spikelet

  2

  Inflorescence arrangement

  the spikelets are uniform

  Inflorescence axis orientation

  • the inflorescence axis is arched or curved outward
  • the inflorescence axis is straight

  Inflorescence branch length

  1–2 cm

  Inflorescence branches

  the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence

  Inflorescence branches coming off the lowest stem node

  1

  Inflorescence crowding

  the panicle is somewhat to very spread out, with clearly-evident branches

  Inflorescence length

  40–140 mm

  Inflorescence type (general)

  the spikelets are borne on stalks or on branches

  Inflorescence type (specific)

  the inflorescence is branched, and the branches do NOT both grow from the same side of the plant AND look like spikes

  Inforescence position

  the spikelets are mainly carried at the end of the stem

  Lemma awn coiled

  the lemma awn is straight or twisted, but not coiled one half turn

  Lemma awn number

  the lemma has more than one awn on it

  Lemma surface

  the surface of the lemma is relatively smooth (not counting any longitudinal veins or hairs)

  Lemma tip

  • the lemma tip is a simple point, with or without an awn (long narrow extension ending in a point)
  • the lemma tip is split into two or more points

  Lower glume length

  4–7 mm

  Lower glume relative length

  the lower glume is one third to three quarters as long as the upper glume

  One or more florets

  • there is more than one floret per spikelet
  • there is one floret per spikelet

  Palea relative length

  palea is one half to fully as long as lemma

  Reproductive system

  all the flowers on the plant have both carpels and stamens (synoecious)

  Spikelet axis tip

  there is no extension of the spikelet axis beyond the tip of the spikelet

  Spikelet length

  4.5–8 mm

  Spikelet pedicel

  the spikelets do not have pedicels

  Spikelet pedicel length

  0 mm

  Spikelet position

  the spikelets emerge from both the upper and lower halves of the inflorescence branches

  Spikelet shape

  • the spikelets are obovate (egg-shaped but with the widest point above the middle) in profile
  • the spikelets are obtriangular (triangular, with the widest end away from the point of attachment) in profile

  Spikelets per panicle branch

  2–8

  Spikelets spiny

  the spikelets do not appear spiny

  Tip of glume

  the tip of the glume is not divided (though it may have an awn on it)

  Upper glume length

  4–9 mm

• Growth form

  Horizontal rooting stem

  no

  Lifespan

  the plant lives more than two years

  Rhizomes

  no

  Roots

  there are only slender roots on the plant

• Leaves

  Basal leaves

  • the plant has few or no leaves coming from the base of the flowering stem
  • the plant has large or prominent tufts of leaves at the base of the flowering stem

  Leaf auricles

  the leaves do not have auricles

  Leaf blade hairs

  • the leaf blade is hairless, but it may have tiny prickles that give it a sand-papery feel
  • the leaf blade is hairy

  Leaf blade length

  5–20 cm

  Leaf blade width

  1–5 mm

  Leaf ligule length

  0.2–0.3 mm

  Leaf ligule type

  the leaf ligule is in the form of a membrane with fine hairs

  Leaf margin glands

  there are no glands along the edges of the leaf blade

  Leaf sheath closed around stem

  the margins of the leaf sheath are overlapping and not fused together except in the basal half (or less)

  Leaf sheath color and persistence

  the leaf sheathes are off-white to light-brown and mostly persist in older leaves

  Leaf sheath hair type

  there are hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath, but the hairs do not have blisters at their bases

  Leaf sheath hairs

  • there are hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath
  • there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath

  Orientation of topmost leaf

  the flag leaf is held upright, or at less than a 45 degree angle out from the stem

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Maine
  • Massachusetts

  Specific habitat

  man-made or disturbed habitats

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Plant height

  15–65 cm

  Roots at lower stem nodes

  • no
  • yes

  Stem hairs

  • the stem has hairs on it
  • the stem is nearly to completely hairless

  Stem orientation

  • the stems are upright
  • the stems trail at the base, but turn upwards at the tips

  Stem spacing

  the stems grow close together in compact clusters or tufts

Wetland status

Not classified

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae