Achnatherum
The boundaries of Achnatherum are not clear. Tsvelev (1976) described it as a genus of 15-20 species native to marginally warm and subtropical regions of Eurasia, North Africa, and North America. A year later (1977), he was persuaded by Keng to expand the genus to include several additional species with a blunt callus. Thomasson () demonstrated that the transferred species were similar in several respects, but particularly their lemma epidermal pattern, to many North American species. Subsequently Barkworth (1993) formally transferred the species to Achnatherum, along with some South American taxa. She has since concluded that there are no South American species of Achnatherum.
Until the limits of the genus are better understood, it is difficult to provide a generic description of Achnatherum. Its recent interpretation is, in many respects, a negative one - it comprises species that used to be included in Stipa but from which the type of Stipa (and its relatives) is excluded.
The type of Achnatherum is A. calamagrostis Beauv.
Table Of Taxa (very incomplete)
The information in the table below, like that in other tables, has been compiled from a number of different sources but, in many instances, the generic treatment has been modified to reflect my narrow interpretation of Stipa and relatively broad interpretation of Achnatherum. Because not all taxa that I would include in Achnatherum have names under that genus, many taxa are listed as species of Stipa. I have also shown the name in Stipa for many species, as an aid to those that do not accept Achnatherum in its broad sense.
Sources: Freitag 1985 [Maps]; Vázquez and Devesa (1996); Flora of China (2006).
| Taxon | Synonyms | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| Achnatherum sect. Aristella (Trin.) Tzvelev | Stipa a. aristella Trinius; Aristella (Trin.) Bertol.; S. sect. Aristella (Trinius) Hackel;Stipa subg. Aristella (Trin.) Rouy; Stipa ser. Bromoides Martinovsky; S. sect. Leiostipa ser. Bromoides (Martinovsky) Moraldo | |
| Achnatherum aridum | U.S.A. (western) | |
| Achnatherum brandisii (Mez) Z.L. Wu | Afghanistan, Bhutan, China (Gansu, Winghai, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan), India, Nepal, Pakistan | |
| Achnatherum breviaristatum Keng & P.C. Kuo | China (Gansu) | |
| Achnatherum bromoides (L.) Beauv. | Agrostis bromoides L.; Aristella bromoides (L.) Bertol.; Achnatherum bromoides (L.) Beauv; Stipa bromoides (L.) Dörfler; Lasiagrostis (L.) Nevski; Stipa aristella L. | Africa (north); Azerbaijan; Cyprus; Iran; Iraq; Israel; Palestine Spain; Syria; Turkey S. Aegean Islands |
| Achnatherum calamagrostis (L.) Beauv. TYPE | Agrostis calamagrostis L.; Stipa calamagrostis (L.) Wahlenb.; Lasiagrostis calamagrostis (L.) Link | Europe (South, central south); Spain (northern) |
| Achnatherum capense Questionably in Achnatherum | S. (Stipella) capensis Thunb.; S. retorta Cavanilles; S. tortilis Desfontaines | Mediterranean, naturalized in Macronesia, southern Africa. Afghanistan; Cyprus; Egypt; Iran; Iraq; Jordan; Pakistan; Palestine; Saudi Arabia; Syria; Turkey |
| Achnatherum caragana (Trinius) Nevski | S. (Lasiagrostis) caragana Trinius; Lasiagrstis caragana (Trin.) Trinius & Ruprehct; Oryzopsis pallescens Westberg; O. asiatica Mez | Afghanistan; CAUCASUS, China (Xingjiang), Iran; Kazakhstan, Pakistan; Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey |
| Achnatherum chinense (Hitchc.) Tzvelev | China (Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Nei Mongol, Nigxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi) | |
| Achnatherum chingii (Hitchc.) Keng ex P.C. Kuo | China (Gansu, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan) | |
| Achnatherum coreanum (Honda) Ohwi | Stipa coreana | China (Anhui, Hebei, Hubei, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Zhejiang), Korea, Japan. Has hairy ovary |
| Achnatherum coronatum (Thurber) Barkworth | Stipa coronata Thurber | U.S.A. and Mexico: Southwestern California and adjacent Mexico |
| Achnatherum contractum (B.L. Johnson) Barkworth | Oryzopsis contracta (B.L. Johnson) Shechter | U.S.A.: Wyoming Fertile hybrid between Achnatherum and Piptatherum? See Shechter & Johnson 1966, 1968; Shechter 1969 |
| Achnatherum curvifolium | U.S.A. (southwestern) | |
| Achnatherum diegoense | Mexico, U.S.A | |
| Achnatherum duthei (Hook.) P.C. Kuo & S.L. Luo | China (Qinhai, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan), India (Sikkim), Kashmir, Nepal | |
| Achnatherum editorum (Fourn.) Valdes-Reyna | Stipa editorum Fourn | Central Mexico |
| Achnatherum eminens (Cav.) Barkworth | Stipa eminens Cav. | Southwestern U.S.A. and Mexico |
| Achnatherum hendersonii (Vasey) Barkworth | Oryzopsis hendersonii Vasey | Northwestern contiguous U.S. Rare species |
| A. henryi (Rendle) S.M. Phillips & Z.L. Wu | ||
| var. acutum | China (Yunnan) | |
| var. henryi | China (Gansu, Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan, ) | |
| Achnatherum hymenoides (Roem. & Schult.) Barkworth | Oryzopsis hymenoides (Roem. & Schult.) Ricker; Stipa hymenoides Roem. & Schult. | Widespread western North American species |
| Achnatherum inaequiglume Keng & P.C. Kuo | China (Gansu, Sichuan) | |
| Achnatherum inebrians (Hance) Keng | Stipa inebrians Hance | China (Gansu, Nei Mongol, Nigxia, Qinghai,, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Xizang), Mongolia |
| Achnatherum jacquemontii (Jaub. & Spach) P.C. Kuo & S.L. Lu | Afghanistan, China (Xizang), India, Kashmir, Pakistan | |
| Achnatherum latiglume | U.S.A. (California) | |
| Achnatherum lemmonii (Vasey) Barkworth | Stipa lemmonii Vasey | Western Canada and U.S.A. |
| Achnatherum lettermanii | U.S.A | |
| Achnatherum lobatum (Swallen) Barkworth | Stipa lobata Swallen | U.S.A. and Mexico: southern Arizona, New Mexico, west Texas and northcentral Mexico. |
| Achnatherum longearistatum (Boissier) Nevski | S. (Aristella) kurdistanica Bor; Pipthatherum longearistatum Boiss. & Hausskn. ex Boissier; Oryzopsis longearistata (Boissier) Roshevits; Lasiagrostis longearistata (Boissier) Roshevits & Nevski ex Roshevits; | Iran and Iraq (Zagros Mountains) |
| Achnatherum nakai (Honda) Taeoka ex Imzab | China (Hebei, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Shanxi), Mongolia | |
| Achnatherum nelsonii (Scribner) Barkworth | Stipa nelsonii Scribn. | Western North America |
| Achnatherum nevadense | U.S.A. (western) | |
| Achnatherum occidentale | U.S.A. (western) | |
| par | U.S.A. | |
| Stipa parviflora Desf. | France (southern), Spain, Morocco, Algeria | |
| Achnatherum pekinense (Hance) Ohwi | China (Anhui, Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Jilin, Nei Mongoal, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Yunnan), Japan, Korea, Russia | |
| Achnatherum perplexum Hoge & Barkworth | Southwestern U.S.A. | |
| Achnatherum pinetorum (M.E. Jones) Barkworth | Stipa pinetorum | Western (but interior) U.S.A |
| Achnatherum psilantherum Keng exTzvelev | China (Gansu, Qinqhai, Sichuan) | |
| Achnatherum pubicalyx (Ohwi) Keng ex P.C. Kuo | China (Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Nei Mongol, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Xinjiang), Korea | |
| Achnatherum richardsonii | Canada, U.S.A. | |
| Achnatherum robustum (Vasey) Barkworth | Stipa robusta Vasey | western U.S.A. |
| Achnatherum saposhnikovii (Roshevitz) Nevski | China (Gansu, Neil Mongol, Nigxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang), Kazackhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan | |
| Achnatherum scribneri | U.S.A. (Colorado, Utah) | |
| Achnatherum sibiricum (L.) Keng | Stipa sibirica L. | CAUCASUS, China (Heilongjiang, Henan, Nei MOngol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Yunnan), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyrstan, Mongolia, Russia, uzbekistan, Caucasus |
| Achnatherum speciosum (Trin. & Rupr.) Barkworth | Stipa speciosa Trin. & Rupr. This generic disposition is in serious question. Other suggestions are Jarava or in a promoted Stipa subg. Pappostipa to a genus. | Chile, Argentina and, as a disjunct, western U.S.A. |
| Achnatherum splendens (Trinius) Nevski | Stipa splendens Trinius; Lasiagrostis splendens (Trinius) Kunth; S. altaica Trinius; Aristella longiflora Regel; S. schlagintweitii Mez; S. kokonorica Hao; S. munroana Bor | Afghanistan, China (Gandu, Heilongjiang, Henan, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Xizang, Yunnan), India, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia (southern Urals, lower Volga, Siberia) Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. |
| Achnatherum stillmanii Placement in Achnatherum dubious, better than in Stipa. | ||
| Achnatherum swallenii | U.S.A. (western) | |
| Achnatherum thurberianum | U.S.A. (western) | |
| Achnatherum turcomanicum (Roshevits) Tzvelev | S. litwinowiana Smirnow ex Pavlov & Lipsch.; Lasiagrostis litwinowiana Smirnow ex Gamajun et al.; Oryzopsis turcomanica Roshevits; | Afghanistan; Iran (north); Kazakhstan; Turkmenia (south) |
| Achnatherum wallowaense | U.S.A | |
| Achnatherum webberi | U.S.A. (western) |