Alloteropsis semialata
{{Short description|Species of grass}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Black seed grass
Cockatoo grass
|image = Alloteropsis semialata flowers.jpeg
|image_caption =
|genus = Alloteropsis
|species = semialata
|synonyms_ref = [http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/synonomy.do?name_id=391238 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]
|synonyms =
- Panicum semialatum R.Br.
- Urochloa semialata (R.Br.) Kunth
- Oplismenus semialatus (R.Br.) Desv.
- Coridochloa semialata (R.Br.) Nees ex Benth.
- Axonopus semialatus (R.Br.) Hook.f.
- Paspalum semialatum (R.Br.) Eyles
- Bluffia eckloniana Nees
- Alloteropsis eckloniana (Nees) Hitchc.
- Alloteropsis distachya J.Presl
- Aira viatica Griff.
- Panicum viaticum Griff.
- Holosetum philippicum Steud.
- Arundinella schultzii Benth.
- Panicum philippicum (Steud.) Náves ex Fern.-Vill.
- Pterochlaena catangensis Chiov.
- Axonopus maidenianus Domin
- Alloteropsis homblei Robyns
- Alloteropsis gwebiensis Stent & J.M.Rattray
}}
Alloteropsis semialata, known commonly as black seed grass, cockatoo grass, donkersaad gras, swartsaadgras, tweevingergras, and isi quinti, is a perennial grass found in tropical regions of Asia, Africa, Madagascar, and Australasia.
Description
This plant typically reaches {{convert|20–150|cm|frac=2}} tall, growing from a short, white rhizome.{{Cite web|title=Alloteropsis semialata|url=https://capeyorknrm.com.aucapeyorknrm.com.au/|access-date=2021-05-07|website=Cape York Natural Resource Management|language=en-AU}} The leaf blades are typically {{convert|10–50|cm|abbr=on|frac=2}} long and {{convert|1–10|mm|frac=16}} wide. The plant produces 2-flowered fertile spikelets.{{Cite web|title=Alloteropsis semialata {{!}} AusGrass2|url=http://ausgrass2.myspecies.info/content/alloteropsis-semialata|access-date=2021-05-07|website=ausgrass2.myspecies.info}}
Etymology
The genus name Allopteropsis comes from the Greek words "allotrios", meaning "belonging to another", and "opsis", meaning appearance. The specific epithet semialata comes from the Latin "semi" (half) and "ala" (wing), referring to the winged margins of the upper glume.{{Cite web |title=Cockatoo Grass – Alloteropsis semialata {{!}} NQ Dry Tropics |url=https://www.nqdrytropics.com.au/native-grasses/cockatoo-grass/ |access-date=2021-05-07 |language=en-AU}}
Variation
The species has two subspecies including A. semialata subsp. semialata, which uses the C4 photosynthetic pathway, and A. semialata subsp. eckloniana, which uses the C3 photosynthetic pathway.{{cite journal|last=Gibbs Russell|first=G. E.|title=The taxonomic position of C3 and C4 Alloteropsis semialata (Poaceae) in southern Africa|journal=Bothalia|year=1983|volume=14|issue=2|pages=205–213|doi=10.4102/abc.v14i2.1160 |url=https://abcjournal.org/index.php/abc/article/download/1160/1109}} As the only plant species known to use both pathways, it is an important model for the study of the evolution of photosynthesis. There are a wide range of intermediate phenotypes, including that of C2 photosynthesis.{{cite journal |last1=Lundgren |first1=Marjorie R. |last2=Dunning |first2=Luke T. |last3=Olofsson |first3=Jill K. |last4=Moreno-Villena |first4=Jose J. |last5=Bouvier |first5=Jacques W. |last6=Sage |first6=Tammy L. |last7=Khoshravesh |first7=Roxana |last8=Sultmanis |first8=Stefanie |last9=Stata |first9=Matt |last10=Ripley |first10=Brad S. |last11=Vorontsova |first11=Maria S. |last12=Besnard |first12=Guillaume |last13=Adams |first13=Claire |last14=Cuff |first14=Nicholas |last15=Mapaura |first15=Anthony |last16=Bianconi |first16=Matheus E. |last17=Long |first17=Christine M. |last18=Christin |first18=Pascal-Antoine |last19=Osborne |first19=Colin P. |title=C4 anatomy can evolve via a single developmental change |journal=Ecology Letters |date=February 2019 |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=302–312 |doi=10.1111/ele.13191|pmid=30557904 |pmc=6849723 |s2cid=56174713 }}
The species has been found in a polyploid series with diploid, tetraploid, hexaploid, octoploid and dodecaploid individuals. All members of the C3 subspecies are diploid and there are no diploid individuals outside of that subspecies.{{cite journal|last=Liebenberg|first=E. J. L.|author2=A. Fossey.|title=Comparative cytogenetic investigation of the two subspecies of the grass Alloteropsis semialata (Poaceae)|journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society|date=November 2001|volume=137|issue=3|pages=243–248|doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.2001.tb01120.x|s2cid=84546752 |doi-access=free}}
Distribution and habitat
It is distributed across much of tropical and subtropical Asia, Africa, Madagascar, Australia, and Papuasia.[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200024815 Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 519 毛颖草 mao ying cao Alloteropsis semialata (R. Brown) Hitchcock, Contr. U. S. Natl. Herb. 12: 210. 1909.][https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/367525#page/271/mode/1up Hitchcock, A. S. 1909. Catalogue of the Grasses of Cuba. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 12(6): 183–258, vii–xi]
Ecology
References
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