''Oplismenus'' is a small

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of annual or

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

es, commonly known as basketgrass, found throughout the

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

subtropics The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones immediately to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately ...

, and in some cases,

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

regions of the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The

systematics Systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: phylogenetic trees, phylogenies). Phy ...

of the genus are unclear, with over 100 described

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

, only 7 species are officially recognized as of 2016.

Accepted species

The following list includes all currently recognized species of the genus ''Oplismenus'' accepted by the

Catalogue of Life The Catalogue of Life (CoL) is an online database that provides an index of known species of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms. It was created in 2001 as a partnership between the global Species 2000 and the American Integrated Taxono ...

and

World Checklist of Selected Plant Families The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) was an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected p ...

as of March 2016, sorted alphabetically. For each, binomial name is followed by author citation.

Description

The members of this genus are scrambling or trailing herbaceous grasses, both annual and perennial. The stems trail along the ground and can root at the nodes. The leaf blades are generally lance-shaped or acuminate to ovate and are covered in scattered hairs, and the leaf sheaths are hairy. Oplismenuspath

Ecology

These plants generally grow in shaded habitats such as the forest floor. Annual-type species will usually die off in cooler or drier months while the perennial species typically have much more tolerance. Some species have considerable invasive potential. Unlike some of their relatives, members of this genus use C3 photosynthesis.

Taxonomy

The French naturalist

Palisot de Beauvois Ambroise Marie François Joseph Palisot, Baron de Beauvois (27 July 1752, in Arras – 21 January 1820, in Paris) was a French naturalist and zoologist. Palisot collected insects in Oware, Benin, Saint Domingue, and the United States, from 17 ...

described the genus in August or September 1810 in his ''Flore d'Oware et de Benin''. At a later date, however, it was noted that

Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...

had also defined the genus earlier the same year, as ''Orthopogon'', in his work ''

Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a book by the botanist Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and ...

''. Nevertheless, because the name ''Oplismenus'' had been universally used for many years, it was ruled a ''nomen conservandum'' (

conserved name A conserved name or ''nomen conservandum'' (plural ''nomina conservanda'', abbreviated as ''nom. cons.'') is a scientific name that has specific nomenclatural protection. That is, the name is retained, even though it violates one or more rules wh ...

) in 1978. The generic name is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

''hoplismenos'' ("armed"), because the

glume In botany, a glume is a bract (leaf-like structure) below a spikelet in the inflorescence (flower cluster) of grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flow ...

s have awns. The number of species is unclear, with some disagreement among botanists. In Australia, ''Oplismenus aemulus'' and ''O. imbecillis'' are recognised as separate species by the Queensland and New South Wales Herbaria, but not by the National Herbarium, which classifies them as synonyms of ''O. hirtellus''. A multiple discriminant analysis published in 1978 of the characteristics used to define the species of ''Oplismenus'' worldwide found a high degree of overlap in Australia, indicating ''O. aemulus'' and ''O. imbecilis'' fell within the parameters of ''O. hirtellus'', as did the American taxon ''O. setarius''. The other American taxon, ''O. rariflorus'', fell within ''O. compositus''. The authors proposed the recognition of only five species: *'' Oplismenus burmannii'' - pantropical *'' Oplismenus thwaitesii'' - Sri Lanka (may be synonymous with ''O. burmannii'') *'' Oplismenus compositus'' - Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia, Pacific *'' Oplismenus hirtellus'' - tropics, but replaced in India and Indochina by ''O. compositus'' *''

Oplismenus undulatifolius ''Oplismenus undulatifolius'', commonly known as wavyleaf basketgrass, is a species of perennial grass from the family Poaceae that is native to Eurasia, specifically Southern Europe through Southern Asia. Due to its invasive nature, it can b ...

'' - widespread The German botanist Ursula Scholz published a monograph in 1981, having studied the genus throughout the world and examined over five thousand specimens, including 61

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

s. She recognized nine species and 18 infraspecific taxa. *Section ''Scabriseta'' **''O. affinis'' Schult. ***''O. affinis'' var. ''affinis'' ***''O. affinis'' var. ''humboldtianus'' **''O. baronii'' **'' O. burmannii'' ***''O. burmannii'' var. ''burmannii'' ***''O. burmannii'' var. ''lanatus'' ***''O. burmannii'' var. ''multisetus'' **'' O. flavicomus'' **''O. gracillimus'' **''O. humbertianus'' Starr 050415-0054 Oplismenus hirtellus

*Section ''Oplismenus'' **'' O. aemulus'' ***''O. aemulus'' var. ''aemulus'' ***''O. aemulus'' var. ''flaccidus'' ***''O. aemulus'' var. ''densiflorus'' **'' O. compositus'' ***''O. compositus'' var. ''compositus'' ***''O. compositus'' var. ''rariflorus'' ***''O. compositus'' var. ''sylvaticus'' **'' O. hirtellus'' ***''O. hirtellus'' subsp. ''hirtellus'' ***''O. hirtellus'' subsp. ''acuminatus'' ***''O. hirtellus'' subsp. ''capensis'' ***''O. hirtellus'' subsp. ''fasciculatus'' ***''O. hirtellus'' subsp. ''imbecillis'' ***''O. hirtellus'' subsp. ''japonicus'' ***''O. hirtellus'' subsp. ''microphyllus'' ***''O. hirtellus'' subsp. ''psilostachys'' ***''O. hirtellus'' subsp. ''setarius'' ***''O. hirtellus'' subsp. ''tsushimensis'' ***''O. hirtellus'' subsp. ''undulatifolius''

Uses

Variegated forms have been cultivated as house plants in Europe. Locally occurring species in Australia have been used for revegetation and reclamation in shady or wet areas, though some can be invasive. Some have been promoted as local native plants for wildlife gardens, and as

lawn A lawn () is an area of soil-covered land planted with Poaceae, grasses and other durable plants such as clover lawn, clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawn mower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic an ...

grass. They are edible to livestock.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2503609 Grasses of Africa Grasses of Asia Grasses of Oceania Grasses of North America Grasses of South America Poaceae genera Taxa named by Palisot de Beauvois