Sporobolus

Sporobolus
Sporobolus virginicus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Chloridoideae
Tribe: Zoysieae
Subtribe: Sporobolinae
Genus: Sporobolus
R.Br.[1]
Type species
Sporobolus indicus
Synonyms[4]
  • Agrosticula Raddi
  • Bauchea E. Fourn.
  • Bennetia Raf.
  • Cryptostachys Steud.
  • Diachyrium Griseb.
  • Heleochloa Host ex Roem.
  • Spermachiton Llanos
  • Spermatochiton Pilg., alternate spelling
  • Thellungia Stapf
  • Triachyrum Hochst.

Sporobolus is a nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family.[5][3][6][7][8] The name Sporobolus means "seed-thrower", and is derived from Ancient Greek word σπόρος (spóros), meaning "seed", and the root of βάλλειν (bállein) "to throw", referring to the dispersion of seeds.[9] Members of the genus are usually called dropseeds[10] or sacaton grasses. They are typical prairie and savanna plants, occurring in other types of open habitat in warmer climates. At least one species (S. caespitosus from Saint Helena) is threatened with extinction, and another (S. durus from Ascension Island) is extinct.

  1. ^ "Genus Sporobolus R. Br". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
  2. ^ lectotype designated by L.K.G. Pfeiffer, Nom. Bot. 2:1274 (1874)
  3. ^ a b "Sporobolus R. Br.". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden.
  4. ^ "Sporobolus". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  5. ^ Brown, Robert (1810). Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van-Diemen, exhibens characteres plantarum [Forerunner of the Flora of New Holland and the Island of Van Diemen, showing the characteristics of its plants] (in Latin). Vol. 1. London: Richard Taylor. pp. 169-170. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.3678.
  6. ^ Wu, Zhen-lan; Phillips, Sylvia M. "Sporobolus". Flora of China. Vol. 22 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  7. ^ "Genere Sporobolus". Altervista Flora Italiana. Includes photos and distribution maps for several species.
  8. ^ "Sporobolus". County-level distribution maps from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
  9. ^ Quattrocchi, Umberto (2000). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology. Vol. IV R-Z. Taylor & Francis US. p. 2542. ISBN 978-0-8493-2678-3.
  10. ^ "Sporobolus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2011-02-28.