Kingdom Plantae Family Poaceae Genus Pleuropogon Rank Species | Order Poales Subfamily Pooideae Scientific name Pleuropogon refractus | |
Pleuropogon refractus is a species of grass known by the common name nodding semaphoregrass. It is native to the west coast of North America from British Columbia to northern California, where it grows in moist meadows, marshy areas, and shady forests.
Description
Pleuropogon refractus is a perennial bunchgrass growing to a maximum height around 1.5 meters. The inflorescence bears widely spaced cylindrical spikelets which hang sideways off the stem, resembling semaphore signals. Each spikelet may be up to 2.5 centimeters long and may contain up to 14 flowers. As the spikelets develop the stem may bend over or nod, such that the spikelets point downward.
References
Pleuropogon refractus Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA