Holcus

Woolly honey grass ( Holcus lanatus )

Honey grasses ( Holcus ) are a genus within the family of grasses ( Poaceae ). They are distinguished mainly by a velvety pubescence.

Description

Honey grasses are one or more years, more or less hairy herbaceous plants. The leaves are flat. The inflorescences are more or less dense panicles. The spikelets are pressed together and two, rarely dreiblütig. The lowest single flower is bisexual, the upper mostly male. The slightly unequal glumes are papery and surrounded the lemmas and the entire spikelets mostly complete. The lower ones are einnervig, the top three annoying. The most indistinctly nerved lemmas rounded on the back. The upper and / or lower lemmas have awns. The awns protrude more or less out of the male spikelets. The ligule ( ligules ) are membranous and often fringed.

Dissemination

The range extends from Europe to North Africa to Southwest Asia.

Species

The genus includes eight species, including:

• Holcus annuus Salzm. ex C. A. Mey. ( Syn: H. setiglumis Boiss & Reut. . ); occurs in southern Europe
• Woolly honey grass ( Holcus lanatus L.); Home: Europe, Turkey, Caucasus
• Soft honey grass ( Holcus mollis L.); Home: Europe, Turkey

Evidence

• Description in Flora of China
• Walter Erhardt et al: The big walleye. Encyclopedia of plant names. Volume 2 Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart, 2008. ISBN 978-3-8001-5406-7
• Thomas Gaskell Tutin: Holcus L. In: . Thomas Gaskell Tutin include: Flora Europaea. Volume 5, page 230-231. Cambridge University Press 1980. ISBN 0-521-20108- X