Lygeum

albardine
esparto grass
Lygeum spartum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Lygeum
Loefl. ex L.
Species: L. spartum
Binomial name
Lygeum spartum
Loefl. ex L.
Synonyms[1]
  • Linosparton Adans.
  • Sparthum Plin. ex P. Beauv. as synonym[2]
  • Spartum Plin. ex P. Beauv., alternate spelling[3]
  • Lygeum tenax Salisb.
  • Lygeum spathaceum Lam.
  • Lygeum apiculatum Gand.
  • Lygeum insulare Gand.
  • Lygeum loscosii Gand.
  • Lygeum murcicum Gand.
  • Lygeum spartum f. longispathum Trab.
Lygeum spartum
MHNT

Lygeum is a genus of Mediterranean plants in the grass family.[4][5]

Species

The only known species is Lygeum spartum, commonly called esparto grass[1][6] or albardine.[7]It is native to southern Europe and North Africa, where its distribution includes Crete, Italy, Spain, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia.[7][8] It is similar to Stipa tenacissima[9] and both species are used to produce a fiber product known as esparto or esparto grass.[10]

Description

Lygeum spartum is a rhizomatous perennial grass growing up to 75 centimeters tall.[11] The rhizome and the base of the stem are scaly.[12] The leaves are threadlike but stiff[11] and tough, measuring up to 50 centimeters long.[12] The inflorescence is made up of a few long-haired spikelets each up to 4.5 centimeters long. They are wrapped in a lance-shaped bract called a spatheole.[11] This sheath is 3 to 9 centimeters long and can have a sharp point.[12]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ↑ Palisot de Beauvois, Ambroise Marie François Joseph. 1812. Essai d'une Nouvelle Agrostographie 140
  3. ↑ Tropicos, Spartum P. Beauv.
  4. ↑ Linnaeus, Carl von. 1754. Genera Plantarum, ed. 5 27, (522).
  5. ↑ Abdeddaim-Boughanmi, K. and M. Kaid-Harche. (2009). Structure, ultrastructure of the anther, pollen microsporogenesis and morphology of pollen grains of two populations of Lygeum spartum L. in Algeria. American Journal of Agricultural and Biological Sciences 4(3), 201-05.
  6. ↑ Altervista Flora Italiana, genere Lygeum, Sparto steppico, Esparto Grass
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lygeum spartum. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).
  8. ↑ Lygeum spartum. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
  9. ↑ Garcı́a-Fuentes, A., et al. (2001). Review of communities of Lygeum spartum L. in the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula (western Mediterranean). Journal of Arid Environments 48(3), 323-39.
  10. ↑ Watson, L. and M. J. Dallwitz. 1992 onwards. Lygeum. The Grass Genera of the World. DELTA – DEscription Language for TAxonomy. Version: 18 December 2012.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Clayton, W. D., et al. (2006 onwards). Lygeum. GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Lygeum spartum. Flora of Pakistan.