Aristida basiramea
Aristida basiramea, the forked three-awn, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae native to North America. The specific epithet basiramea means "branching from base".
Description
Aristida basiramea is an annual grass and freely branches from the base, reaching in height. The wiry culms are sparingly branched. The narrow leaves of the grass are flat and become involute towards their tip. The panicles are borne in the basal sheathes. The glabrous glumes at the base of the spikelets gradually taper to a point, averaging from in length. The glumes have a single vein and are unequal in length. The lemma, excluding the awns, is approximately long. The delicate lateral awns are in length and can be erect or spreading. The middle awn is much longer and stouter, being long, and loosely spirals when dry. The spikelets are light brown when mature. The seeds are chestnut brown and long.The grass flowers from August to October.
Habitat and distribution
Aristida basiramea is endemic to North America, particularly the midwest, though outliers in distribution include as far south as Texas and as far east as Maine. The grass is rare in Canada, only found in southern Ontario and Quebec. The grass is not found any farther north than the upper peninsula of Michigan.The species grows in weedy conditions such as roadsides or pastures and will often grow in pine barrens. In Canada the grass can be found occasionally in open and dry sand ridges or dunes. It prefers dry or sandy soil and warm climates, though it is the hardiest member of its genus.