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Annual-bristle grass

Aristida adscensionis

Family: Poaceae Genus: Aristida Species: adscensionis

Synonyms: Aristida coerulescens, Aristida grisebachiana var. decolorata, Aristida macrochloa, Aristida vulgaris var. coerulescens, Chaetaria coarctata, Aristida maritima, Aristida dispersa var. nana, Aristida pygmaea, Aristida cardosoi, Aristida interrupta, Arthratherum adscensionis, Aristida strictiflora, Aristida adscensionis var. mexicana, Chaetaria curvata, Aristida coerulescens var. pumila, Aristida adscensionis subsp. coerulescens, Aristida vulgaris, Aristida dispersa var. nigrescens, Aristida guineensis, Aristida stricta var. decolorans, Aristida adscensionis var. decolorata, Aristida canariensis, Aristida thonningii, Aristida peruviana, Aristida coerulescens var. scabrilemma, Aristida confusa, Aristida dispersa var. humilis, Chaetaria mauritiana var. nana, Aristida humilis, Aristida setacea, Aristida pusilla, Aristida mauritiana var. glabripetala, Aristida aethiopica, Aristida coerulescens var. laevilemma, Chaetaria coerulescens, Aristida adscensionis var. bromoides, Aristida adscensionis var. abortiva, Aristida americana var. bromoides, Chaetaria gigantea, Aristida nana, Aristida grisebachiana, Aristida adscensionis var. ehrenbergii, Aristida vulgaris var. mongholica, Aristida dispersa, Aristida vulgaris var. pumila, Aristida nigrescens, Arthratherum adscensionis subsp. heymannii, Aristida submucronata var. scabra, Aristida coerulescens var. exilis, Aristida chaetophylla, Aristida stricta var. grisebachiana, Aristida adscensionis var. modesta, Aristida adscensionis var. canariensis, Aristida debilis, Chaetaria teneriffae, Chaetaria mauritiana, Aristida depressa, Aristida teneriffae, Aristida coerulescens var. arabica, Aristida adscensionis var. coarctata, Chaetaria nana, Aristida abyssinica, Aristida adscensionis var. spigera, Aristida elatior, Aristida coarctata, Aristida adscensionis var. scabriflora, Aristida gigantea, Aristida adscensionis f. modesta, Chaetaria canariensis, Aristida curvata, Chaetaria fasciculata, Chaetaria adscensionis, Aristida dispersa var. bromoides, Aristida adscensionis var. coerulescens, Aristida adscensionis var. strictiflora, Aristida adscensionis subsp. guineensis, Aristida adscensionis var. senegalensis, Aristida effusa, Aristida viciosorum, Aristida adscensionis var. aethiopica, Aristida adscensionis var. nigrescens, Aristida nutans, Chaetaria interrupta, Aristida vulgaris var. senegalensis, Chaetaria depressa, Aristida adscensionis var. humilis, Aristida vulpioides, Aristida coerulescens var. breviaristata, Aristida swartziana, Chaetaria luzoniensis, Chaetaria elatior, Aristida laxa, Aristida adscensionis subsp. heymannii, Aristida schaffneri, Chaetaria bromoides, Aristida depressa var. coarctata, Aristida waibeliana, Aristida submucronata, Chaetaria forskalii, Aristida adscensionis subvar. condensata, Aristida modatica, Aristida paniculata, Aristida festucoides, Aristida simplicissima, Aristida adscensionis var. pygmaea, Aristida fasciculata, Aristida mongholica, Aristida vulgaris var. canariensis, Aristida depressa var. bromoides, Aristida adscensionis var. festucoides, Aristida dispersa var. coarctata, Aristida adscensionis var. condensata, Aristida heymannii, Aristida adscensionis var. normalis, Aristida vulgaris var. aethiopica, Chaetaria humilis, Aristida corctata, Aristida adscensionis var. pumila, Aristida adscensionis var. interrupta, Aristida spicigera, Chaetaria festucoides, Aristida ehrenbergii, Aristida coerulescens var. breviseta, Aristida adscensionis subsp. bromoides, Aristida racemosa, Aristida adscensionis var. typica, Aristida vulgaris var. abyssinica, Aristida luzoniensis, Aristida pumila, Aristida curvata var. nana, Aristida adscensionis var. glabricallis, Aristida adscensionis var. guineensis, Aristida adscensionis var. breviseta, Aristida arabica, Aristida curvata var. abyssinica, Aristida bromoides, Aristida mauritiana

Annual-bristle grass (en)
Aristida adscensionis — flower
Aristida adscensionis — flower

Botanical Description

Aristida adscensionis is a tufted annual grass of the Poaceae family forming small, erect to spreading bunches 10-50 cm tall, occasionally taller in favourable conditions. Culms are slender, wiry, geniculate at the lower nodes and freely branching from the base. Leaf sheaths are smooth and shorter than the internodes; ligules are a minute fringed membrane less than 0.5 mm long; blades are narrow, 3-15 cm long and 1-3 mm wide, flat to inrolled, often somewhat scabrous along the margins. The inflorescence is a contracted, narrow panicle 4-20 cm long with short erect to ascending branches bearing congested spikelets. Each spikelet contains a single floret enclosed by two unequal hyaline glumes 4-9 mm long. The lemma is firm, terete, 5-10 mm long, and terminates in a divergent three-awned column; the three awns are equal to subequal, 6-20 mm long, scabrous and spreading at maturity, aiding in adhesive dispersal of the slender dark caryopsis. A pantropical species native across the Americas, Africa, southern Asia and Australia, growing on dry, sandy or rocky open ground, disturbed soils and rangelands.

Native Region: Afghanistan, Algeria, Andaman Is., Angola, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Arizona, Aruba, Ascension, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Burkina, Burundi, California, Cameroon, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, Cape Verde, Chad, Chile Central, Chile North, China North-Central, China South-Central, Colombia, Colorado, Cuba, Cyprus, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, East Aegean Is., East Himalaya, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Free State, Galápagos, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Gulf of Guinea Is., Gulf States, Haiti, Honduras, India, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kansas, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kirgizstan, Kriti, KwaZulu-Natal, Lebanon-Syria, Leeward Is., Lesotho, Lesser Sunda Is., Libya, Madeira, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mexican Pacific Is., Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nebraska, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles, Nevada, New Guinea, New Mexico, Nicaragua, Nicobar Is., Niger, Nigeria, North Caucasus, Northern Provinces, Oklahoma, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Qinghai, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sicilia, Sinai, Socotra, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Tadzhikistan, Tanzania, Texas, Thailand, Togo, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turkey, Turks-Caicos Is., Uganda, Utah, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Western Sahara, Windward Is., Xinjiang, Yemen, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe

Cultural & Historical Context

Traditional American Uses

None Documented

Chemistry & External Identifiers

Trefle ID
224764

Important Disclaimer

This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.