Three-awn
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The three-awns are a genus Aristida of grasses distinguished by having three awns (bristles) on each lemma of each floret. The genus includes about 300 species, found worldwide in arid warm regions.
Aristida stems are ascending to erect, with both basal and cauline leaves. The leaves may be flat or inrolled, and the basal leaves may be tufted. The inflorescences may be either panicle-like or raceme-like, with spiky branches. The glumes of a spikelet are narrow lanceolate, usually without any awns, while the lemmas are hard, three-veined, and have the three awns near the tip. The awns may be quite long; in A. purpurea var. longiseta they may be up to 10 cm.
Species
- Aristida stricta (pineland three-awn)
- Aristida purpurea (purple three-awn)
- Aristida pungens (drinn)
References
- Jepson manual, pp. 1234-5
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