''Imperata brevifolia'' is a species of

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

known by the common name California satintail.

Distribution

It is native to the southwestern United States from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and northern Mexico, where it grows in arid regions where water is available.

Description

''Imperata brevifolia'' is a perennial grass growing from a hard

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

to heights near 1.5 meters. The flat leaves are up to 50 centimeters long and 1.5 wide. The

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. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

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 The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

and purplish-brown stigmas of the spikelets.

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Imperata brevifolia''''Imperata brevifolia'' - Photo gallery
Panicoideae Grasses of the United States Native grasses of California Grasses of Mexico Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of the California desert regions Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Mojave Desert Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Panicoideae-stub