Panicum hirticaule

Panicum hirticaule

Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Panicoideae
Genus: Panicum
Species:
P. hirticaule
Binomial name
Panicum hirticaule
Synonyms

Panicum sonorum

Panicum hirticaule is a species of grass known by the common names Mexican panicgrass and roughstalked witchgrass. It is also known as the Sonoran millet, and is cultivated as a cereal crop in the American Southwest.[2]

Distribution

In North America it is native to the Southwestern United States and Mexico. Its distribution extends throughout Central and South America. It grows in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas. There is evidence that it was eaten, cultivated and possibly domesticated by Native Americans.[3]

Description

This is an annual[4] bunchgrass growing 10 to 80 centimeters tall and bearing hairy leaves up to 15 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a branching panicle up to 12 centimeters long with rounded spikelets at nodes.

References

  1. ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  2. ^ Fuller, Dorian Q. (2014). "Millets: Origins and Development". Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. New York, NY: Springer New York. pp. 4945–4948. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_2181. ISBN 978-1-4419-0426-3.
  3. ^ Nabhan, Gary; de Wet, J. M. J. (January 1984). "Panicum sonorum in Sonoran Desert agriculture". Economic Botany. 38 (1): 65–82. doi:10.1007/BF02904417. S2CID 46312636.
  4. ^ "The Calflora Database: Panicum hirticaule". Retrieved 2018-01-29.


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