''Orcuttia viscida'' is a rare 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 a ...

known by the common name Sacramento Orcutt grass.

Distribution

It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Sacramento County, California Sacramento County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, California, Sacramento, which has been the List of capital ...

, where it grows only in

vernal pool Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe ...

s, a rare and declining type of habitat. As of 1997, two of the nine known populations had been

extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

as habitat has been consumed for urban development, and it was federally listed as an endangered species.USFWS
Determination of endangered status for three plants and threatened status for five plants from vernal pools in the Central Valley of California
''Federal Register'' March 26, 1997. Since its listing, one additional occurrence of the plant has been discovered, for a total of eight extant populations.USFWS
Final designation of critical habitat for four vernal pool crustaceans and eleven vernal pool plants in California and southern Oregon.
''Federal Register'' August 6, 2003.

Description

''Orcuttia viscida'' is a small, hairy, aromatic annual grass forming sticky, glandular tufts up to 10 or 15 centimeters in maximum height. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

is a small, crowded cluster of spikelets with awned tips that curve outward at maturity, giving the spikes a bristly appearance.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Orcuttia viscida''Grass Manual Treatment - Orcuttia viscida''Orcuttia viscida'' - Photo gallery
viscida Endemic flora of California Native grasses of California Bunchgrasses of North America Natural history of Sacramento County, California Natural history of the Central Valley (California) {{Chloridoideae-stub