Crypsis vaginiflora
Encyclopedia
Crypsis vaginiflora is a species of grass
known by the common name modest pricklegrass. It is native to North Africa but it can be found in other parts of the world as an introduced species
, including the western United States, particularly California
, where it is common in wet habitat such as vernal pool
s. It is an annual grass forming mats of green, prostrate stems not generally exceeding 30 centimeters long. The stems are enveloped in the sheaths of the leaves, the small blades of which break off. The inflorescence
is a dense panicle
usually no more than 1.5 centimeters long tucked into the sheaths of the uppermost leaves.
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
known by the common name modest pricklegrass. It is native to North Africa but it can be found in other parts of the world as an introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
, including the western United States, particularly California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it is common in wet habitat such as vernal pool
Vernal pool
Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are temporary pools of water. They are usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe development of natal amphibian and insect species...
s. It is an annual grass forming mats of green, prostrate stems not generally exceeding 30 centimeters long. The stems are enveloped in the sheaths of the leaves, the small blades of which break off. The inflorescence
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. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a dense panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
usually no more than 1.5 centimeters long tucked into the sheaths of the uppermost leaves.