Elymus californicus
Encyclopedia
Elymus californicus is a species of wild rye
known by the common name California bottlebrush grass. This grass is endemic to California
where it is an uncommon species known from a few counties in the San Francisco Bay Area
. It grows between one and two meters in height. The tall, erect stem is nearly naked, bearing the occasional sheathing leaf with a blade 10 to 20 centimeters long. It bears an erect inflorescence
which curves as it becomes heavier in grain. Each inflorescence is divided into three or four nodes with three or four spikelets
per node. Each spikelet is between one and two centimeters long, not counting a long awn about two centimeters long.
Elymus
In Greek and Roman mythology, Elymus was the mythical ancestor of the Elymians, natives of Sicily. Elymus was a Trojan, a natural son of Anchises and a brother of Eryx....
known by the common name California bottlebrush grass. This grass is endemic to 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 an uncommon species known from a few counties in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. It grows between one and two meters in height. The tall, erect stem is nearly naked, bearing the occasional sheathing leaf with a blade 10 to 20 centimeters long. It bears an erect 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...
which curves as it becomes heavier in grain. Each inflorescence is divided into three or four nodes with three or four spikelets
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
per node. Each spikelet is between one and two centimeters long, not counting a long awn about two centimeters long.