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• Aristida basiramea

Aristida basiramea — fork-tipped threeawn

Facts

Fork-tipped threeawn is found in open, sandy fields, grasslands, roadsides and disturbed areas. It is considered native to Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, but not native to Massachusetts, where it also occurs.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), grassland, meadows and fields

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Anther number

  3

  Awn on glume

  the glume has an awn

  Bristles below spikelets

  no

  Floret lower bract texture

  the lemma is hard and firm

  Floret number

  1

  Floret types within spikelet

  all the florets within a spikelet are similar

  Glume awn length

  1–2 mm

  Glume relative length

  both glumes are as long or longer than all of the florets

  Glume veins

  1

  Glumes per spikelet

  2

  Inflorescence arrangement

  the spikelets are uniform

  Inflorescence axis orientation

  the inflorescence axis is straight

  Inflorescence branch length

  Up to 2 cm

  Inflorescence branches

  the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence

  Inflorescence length

  20–100 mm

  Inflorescence length to width ratio

  2–5

  Inflorescence type (general)

  the spikelets are borne on stalks or on branches

  Inflorescence type (specific)

  • the inflorescence is a raceme (a long unbranched stem with stalked flowers growing along it)
  • the inflorescence is branched, and the branches do NOT both grow from the same side of the plant AND look like spikes

  Inflorescence width

  10–20 mm

  Inforescence position

  the spikelets are mainly carried at the end of the stem

  Lemma awn base

  the awn is attached right at the tip of the lemma

  Lemma awn coiled

  the lemma awn is coiled at least one half turn

  Lemma awn length

  10–15 mm

  Lemma awn number

  the lemma has more than one awn on it

  Lemma awn orientation

  the awn of the lemma on dried or older plants is curved or bent outwards

  Lemma base hairs

  the lemma has hairs at the base

  Lemma base length

  0.4–0.6 mm

  Lemma cross-section

  the lemma is flat or rounded if you cut across the midpoint

  Lemma surface

  the surface of the lemma is relatively smooth (not counting any longitudinal veins or hairs)

  Lemma tip

  the lemma tip is a simple point, with or without an awn (long narrow extension ending in a point)

  Lemma vein number

  3

  Lower glume length

  8–11 mm

  Lower glume relative length

  the lower glume is nearly as long, or as long as, the upper glume

  One or more florets

  there is one floret per spikelet

  Palea relative length

  palea is one half to fully as long as lemma

  Reproductive system

  all the flowers on the plant have both carpels and stamens (synoecious)

  Spikelet axis tip

  there is no extension of the spikelet axis beyond the tip of the spikelet

  Spikelet disintegration

  the spikelet breaks off above the glumes, so that after the florets fall off, the glumes remain

  Spikelet length

  7–8 mm

  Spikelet number per node

  0

  Spikelet position

  the spikelets emerge from both the upper and lower halves of the inflorescence branches

  Spikelets per panicle branch

  1–3

  Spikelets spiny

  the spikelets do not appear spiny

  Tip of glume

  the tip of the glume is not divided (though it may have an awn on it)

  Upper glume length

  10–12 mm

  Upper glume relative length

  the upper glume is more than one half as long as the lowest lemma

  Upper glume shape

  the upper glume is widest at or below the middle

• Fruits or seeds

  Seed length

  6–7 mm

• Growth form

  Horizontal rooting stem

  no

  Lifespan

  the plant lives only a single year or less

  Rhizomes

  no

  Roots

  there are only slender roots on the plant

• Leaves

  Basal leaves

  the plant has few or no leaves coming from the base of the flowering stem

  Leaf auricles

  the leaves do not have auricles

  Leaf basal lobe hairy

  NA

  Leaf blade cross-section

  the leaf blade is more or less flat in cross-section, or slightly folded or rolled inwards

  Leaf blade length

  3–8 cm

  Leaf blade width

  1–1.5 mm

  Leaf ligule type

  the leaf ligule is in the form of fine hairs

  Leaf margin glands

  there are no glands along the edges of the leaf blade

  Leaf sheath closed around stem

  the margins of the leaf sheath are overlapping and not fused together except in the basal half (or less)

  Leaf sheath hair type

  • there are hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath, but the hairs do not have blisters at their bases
  • there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath

  Leaf sheath hairs

  • there are hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath
  • there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • grasslands
  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • meadows or fields

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Plant height

  25–45 cm

  Roots at lower stem nodes

  no

  Stem orientation

  the stems are upright

  Stem spacing

  the stems grow close together in compact clusters or tufts

Wetland status

Not classified

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae