Illinois Natural History Survey - University of Illinois

Aristida longespica var. longespica
Three awn, Slimspike threeawn
Taxonomy

Synonyms: Aristida longispica, Aristida longespica, Aristida longispica var. longispica

Subspecific taxa:

Classification:

  • Magnoliophyta
    • Liliopsida

Other taxonomic & nomenclature sources: USDA Plants;  ITIS;  The Plant List;  IPNI

Species Distribution
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More about map & occurrence records

County Map Legend
Absent:
Not known from county
Medium confidence:
Medium or unknown confidence;
often old records or unverifiable observations
Medium-high confidence:
Often observations by expert botanists
High confidence:
Often vouchered herbarium records
Planted / introduced:
Native species introduced outside historic range,
or only in planted locations within county (e.g., restorations)
Historic / extirpated:
Only historic records for the species; likely extirpated
(Note that this category is not yet functional)

North American distribution maps for this species: FLNA;  USDA Plants;  BONAP;  BISON

Collections, Observations & Flowering by Month [?]

J
0
F
0
M
0
A
0
M
0
J
0
J
0
A
0
S
0
O
0
N
0
D
0

Collections & Observations by Decade [?]

Species Status

Status/Listing: No Information

Notes:

Origin: Native

Species Description

General: Monocot, annual

Roots: adventitious, fibrous

Shoots: alternate leaf arrangment; simple leaf type; entire leaf margin; Parallel leaf venation; awl-shaped leaf shape

Inflorescence: panicle

Flowers: perfect; 3 merous; complete; hypogynous ovary position

Fruit: grain

Physiology: autotrophic; C4 C02 fixation

Reproduction:

Ecology & Natural History

Habitat: Species is distributed on sandy soil, especially in fields and along railroads and highways; rocky prairies; bluff edges; open woods and eroded slopes; open and waste ground; and especially in hard clayey soil.

ILPIN Notes: Two varieties are listed in Ref. 8 and on master list. Specific epithet is sometimes spelled longispica (Ref. 7). Stephens, H.A. 1980. Poisonous Plants of the Central United States. Regent Press of Kansas. Lawrence, KA. 165 pp. Baskin, J. M., and C. C. Baskin. 1981. Photosynthetic pathways indicated by leaf anatomy in fourteen summer annuals of cedar glades. Photosynthetica 15: 205-209. Species is occasional throughout the state, although rare to absent in the north-central counties. This type variety has lateral awns 3-4 mm long, central awn 6.5-13.0 mml., and glumes of 4-6 mm long. It has unique feature of having conspicuous basal bend of the center awn.

Functional Relationships:

  • Pollinators:
  • Dispersal:
  • Mycorrhizae:
  • N2 fixation:

Human Relationships:

  • Edibility [?] :
  • Showy Flowers:

Wildlife and Livestock Information:

  • Food Value:
  • Cover Value:

Coefficient of Conservatism (C-value) [?] :

  • Entire State: 2
  • Chicago Area: 5

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