Wangenheimia is a monotypic genus of plants in the grass family. The only known species is Wangenheimia lima.[2][3]

Wangenheimia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Pooideae
Supertribe: Poodae
Tribe: Poeae
Subtribe: Loliinae
Genus: Wangenheimia
Moench
Species:
W. lima
Binomial name
Wangenheimia lima
Synonyms[1]
  • Catapodium pauciflorum (Merino) Brullo, Giusso, Miniss. & Spamp.
  • Cynosurus lima L.
  • Dactylis lima (L.) Steud.
  • Dactylis disticha Ball
  • Desmazeria castellana Willk.
  • Desmazeria pauciflora Merino
  • Desmazeria marina subsp. pauciflora (Merino) Silva Pando
  • Dinebra lima (L.) P.Beauv.
  • Eleusine lima (L.) Lam.
  • Festuca rhachiantha Steud.
  • Poa lima (L.) Trin.
  • Wangenheimia disticha Moench
  • Wangenheimia lima var. glabra Maire
  • Wangenheimia lima var. villosula Maire

Description

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An annual ornamental grass, which bears unusual, feather-like or herringbone-shaped seedheads on long, wiry stems, all summer long.[4] It can grow up to 60 cm (24 in) tall, with long green leaves that have shades of silver when young.[5]

Taxonomy

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Illustration of Cynosurus lima (synonym of Wangenheimia lima), in Flora Atlantica, 1800

The genus is named after the Prussian botanist Friedrich Adam Julius von Wangenheim (1749–1800).[2][6] The Latin specific epithet of lima refers to the Latin noun of file, often referring to a rough surface.[7] Wangenheimia was first described and published in Methodus on page 200 in 1794.[1] The species was first published in Fund. Agrost. on page 132 in 1820.[8]

The genus is not recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Service, listing it as a synonym of Festuca L. and they do not list any known species.[9]

Distribution

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It is native to Spain and Portugal (in Europe) and Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia (in North Africa).[1][10][11]

It is found in grasslands,[12] at altitudes of 500 metres (1,600 ft) above sea level.[13]

Cultivation

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It has been cultivated under the name Wangenheimia 'Lima Vulcan',[5] Wangenheimia lima 'Vulcan',[14] or Wangenheimia lima ‘Vulcan’ and “Vulcan Grass”.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Wangenheimia Moench | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b Moench, Conrad. 1794. Methodus Plantas Horti Botanici et Agri Marburgensis : a staminum situ describendi 200 in Latin
  3. ^ Tropicos, Wangenheimia Moench
  4. ^ "Wangenheimia lima". BBC Gardeners World Magazine. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Wangenheimia 'Lima Vulcan'". www.rightplants4me.co.uk. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  6. ^ Burkhardt, Lotte (2018). Verzeichnis eponymischer Pflanzennamen – Erweiterte Edition [Index of Eponymic Plant Names – Extended Edition] (pdf) (in German). Berlin: Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin. doi:10.3372/epolist2018. ISBN 978-3-946292-26-5. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  7. ^ D. Ohrnberger The Bamboos of the World: Annotated Nomenclature and Literature of the ... (1999), p. 334, at Google Books
  8. ^ "Wangenheimia lima (L.) Trin. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Genus Wangenheimia Moench". npgsweb.ars-grin.gov. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  10. ^ Tutin, T.G. & al. (eds.) (1980). Flora Europaea 5: 1-452. Cambridge University Press
  11. ^ Dobignard, D. & Chatelain, C. (2010). Index synonymique de la flore d'Afrique du nord 1: 1-455. Éditions des conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Genève.
  12. ^ Javier Loidi (Editor) The Vegetation of the Iberian Peninsula: Volume 1 (2017), p. 660, at Google Books
  13. ^ Mikel Lorda López Catálogo florístico de Navarra (2013), p. 120, at Google Books
  14. ^ Nico Vermeulen Summer Flowers (Rebo International, 2001), p. 308, at Google Books
  15. ^ "Wangenheimia lima 'Vulcan' "Vulcan Grass"". Retrieved 10 January 2022.