Leptochloa
Encyclopedia
Leptochloa is a genus
of grasses in the Poaceae
family. Members of the genus are commonly known as sprangletops. The generic name is derived from the Greek
words ληπτος (leptos), meaning "thin," and χλοα (chloa), meaning "grass," referring to the inflorescence
s.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of grasses in the Poaceae
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...
family. Members of the genus are commonly known as sprangletops. The generic name is derived from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
words ληπτος (leptos), meaning "thin," and χλοα (chloa), meaning "grass," referring to 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...
s.
Selected species
- Leptochloa chinensis (L.) Nees – Asian Sprangletop, Chinese Sprangletop
- Leptochloa chloridiformis (Hack.) Parodi – Argentine Sprangletop
- Leptochloa decipiens (R.Br.) Stapf ex Maiden – Australian Sprangletop
- Leptochloa dubia (Kunth) Nees – Green Sprangletop
- Leptochloa eleusine (Nees) Cope & N.Snow
- Leptochloa fusca (L.) Kunth – Malabar Sprangletop
- Leptochloa obtusiflora Hochst.
- Leptochloa panicea (Retz.) Ohwi – Mucronate Sprangletop
- Leptochloa scabra Nees – Rough Sprangletop
- Leptochloa uniflora Hochst. ex A.Rich.
- Leptochloa virgata (L.) P.Beauv. – Tropic Sprangletop
Formerly placed here
- Cynodon plectostachyus (K.Schum.) Pilg. (as L. plectostachyus K.Schum.)
- Enteropogon monostachyos (Vahl) K.Schum. (as L. monostachyos (Vahl) Roem. & Schult.)
- Pogonarthria squarrosa (Roem. & Schult.) Pilg. (as L. falcata Hack. ex Schinz)
- Trichoneura grandiglumis (Nees) Ekman (as L. grandiglumis Nees)