Genera within a family

agros, = a field, land.
agrostis, = a grass that mules feed on.
(LS)

airo, = to rise or lift up, to carry; to lift and take away; put an end to; later to kill.
aira, = a Greek name for a different grass, Lolium temulentum, known as poison darnell.
(LS, Le, K3)

ammos, = sand;
philos, = loving.
(ammophilous, applying to plants or insects which inhabit sandy places)
(Ox, LS)

anthos, = a flower, the bloom of a flower;
xanth-, xantho-, = yellow;
xanthos, = yellow of various shades, golden or pale yellow; also red-yellow, chestnut, auburn.
(LS, BL)

arista, = the awn or beard of grain;
-ida, = indicates a state or action in progress; ('-ish').
(bearded)
(ld, BL)

a-, an-, = denotes privative, negative;
a-, = without, not, -less, un-;
vena, = a blood-vessel, vein.
avena, = oats.
(veinless, without perceptible lateral nerves or veins; opposite of ‘venosus’)
(Ox, ld, BL)

brizō, = to nod, slumber, sleep.
(LS)

broma, = that which is eaten, food.
(oat-like grasses)
(LS, Ox)

cymba, = a boat, skiff; (the boat of Charon which transported the dead;
pogon, = the beard.
(boat-shaped floral parts)
(ld, LS, Le)

kuon, = a dog (as a word of reproach);
odon, ontos, odons, = a tooth.
(sheathed tips of creeping rhizomes)
(LS, Le)

kuon, = a dog (as a word of reproach);
-urus, = -tailed, i.e. with an elongated or tail-like appendage.
Kuonosoura, = dog’s tail; Ursa Minor.
(LS, BL, Ox, K3)

For Jacob Frederich Ehrhardt (1742 - 95).**
(Ch)

eros, = love, desire;
agros, = a field, land.
agrostis, = a grass that mules feed on.
(graceful heart-shaped spikelets)
(LS, Le)

festuca, = a stalk, stem or straw; a straw-like weed which grows among barley.
(ld)

hordeum, = barley (from Sanscrit ghars, ‘to rub, grind’.
(ld)

(h)yper, = over, above;
arrhen, = the male.
(male flower is borne under a bi-sexual flower)
(LS, Le)

For Georg Ludwig Koeler (1765-1807).**
(Ch)

lagos, = a hare;
(hare-, mostly with reference to rough furriness like a hare’s foot or tail)
-urus, = tailed, i.e. with an elongated or tail-like appendage.
(spikelets of woolly heads)
(LS, BL, Le)

lolium, = darnel.
(Latin name for ryegrass.)
(ld, Le)

For Hermann Merxmüller (1920-1988).**
(Ch)

paspale, = the finest meal: a morsel, scrap.
paspalos, = millet.
(LS, K3)

penna, pinna, = a feather; a wing;
(a feather, wing, pen; (have often been used indiscriminately))
saeta, seta, = a thick, stiff hair, a bristle; of the spiny leaves of coniferous trees.
(a bristle, bristle-like organ, as the fruit-stalk of a (sporophore) moss)
(some species have plumose bristles)
(ld, BL, Le)

penta-, = five;
schiz, schizo, = to split, cleave.
(cut, divided)
(lemma with five divisions)
(LS, BL, Le)

polys, polle, poly, = (of number), many; (of size), heavy; (of value), much;
pogon, = the beard.
(hairy glumes)
(LS, Le)

pseudo, = to be mistaken, be false;
(resembling but not equalling)
+ PENTAMERIS (q.v.).
(false Pentameris)
(LS, Ox, Le)

sporos, = a sowing; seed-time, seed, produce, a crop;
(seed, in modern botany, ‘spore’)
bolos, = a throw with dice.
(throwing; dropping of seed)

(LS, BL, Le)

stēnos, = narrow, straight;
taphros, = a ditch, trench.
(small cavities (pits) on the surfaces of the rachis)
(LS, Cl)

stype, = tow (Old Eng.), the coarse part of flax or hemp;
stiphros, = close-pressed,: close, compact, solid, tough, stout;
agros, = a field, land.
agrostis, = a grass that mules feed on.
(LS)

Arabic name for grass.
(Le)

this, thinos, = a heap of sand on the beach; hence, the beach, shore, strand;
pyros, = wheat. From pyr, = fire; because of its flame colour when ripe.
(LS)

tri-, = three times, thrice;
tri-bolos, = three-pointed, three-pronged;
-ium, = ‘characteristic of’.
(three-pointed lemmas in the type species)
(LS, BL, Le)

aner, andrus, = man, of a man.
aner, andros, = male stamen.
pogon, = the beard.
(tufts of hairs on the flowers)
(LS, BL, Le)

brachys, = short, few, little;
pous, podos, = a foot.
-ius, = means ‘characteristic of’, hence indicates connexion or resemblance.
(sessile spikelets)
(LS, BL, Le)

Cape, = the Cape;
chloa, chloe, = the tender shoot of plants in spring, the blade of young corn or grass.
(The name refers to the geographical center for the genus, as characterisitic of the Cape flora)
(LS, Mgb)

digitus, = a finger;
-arius, = indicates connection or possession.
(inflorscence finger like)
(ld, BL, Le)

From Eleusis, a Greek city where the goddess of grain, Demeter (Ceres in Latin), was worshipped.
Triptolemus, to whom Ceres had imparted for all mankind valuable grains and the knowledge of agriculture, built a magnificent temple to Ceres at Eleusis, and established the worship of the goddess, under the name of the Eusinian mysteries, which, in their splendour and solemnity of their observance, surpassed all other religious celebrations among the Greeks.
(Le, Bu)

ge, gea, geo-, = earth, land;
chloa, chloe, = the tender shoot of plants in spring, the blade of young corn or grass.
(the name refers to the geophytic habit of the plants in this genus. This habit is unusual in the grasses and seems particularly characteristic of the three species of Geochloa)
(LS, Mbg)

(h)elix-, = rolled, twisted, winding, spiral;
helic-, = coiled, spirally twisted;
thrix, = the hair both of man and beast; sheep’s wool.
trich-, tricho-, = hairy or hair-like;
(twisted awns)
(LS, BL, Le)

For Ferante Imperato (1550-1625).**
(Ch)

panis, = bread.
panicum, = Italian panic grass, (panicum Italicum).
(used for making bread)

(ld, Le)

penta-, = five-;
meros, = part.
(referring to parts or their number)
(LS, BL)

Pliny’s name for a similar grass; adopted by Linnaeus in his Hortus Cliffortianus (1773) 23 as the name of this genus.
Phalaris was a tyrant of Agrigentum, for whom Perillus made a brazen bull, in which those condemned by him were to be roasted alive. He caused Perillus to be the first to suffer by it, but afterwards experienced the same punishment himself at the hands of his exasperated subjects.
(Ox, ld)

phragma, = a fence, protection, palisade, defence;
(fence, screen, partition)
-ites, -itis, = indicates a close connection.
(LS, BL)

poa, = grass.
(LS)

poa, = grass;
agros, = a field, land.
agrostis, = a grass that mules feed on.
(LS)

(h)eteros, = other (than usual), different, of other kind;
(different, other, uneven)
pogon, = the beard.
(LS, BL)

saeta, seta, = a thick, stiff hair, a bristle; of the spiny leaves of coniferous trees;
(a bristle, bristle-like organ, as the fruit-stalk of a (sporophore) moss)
-arius, = indicates connexion or possession.
(referring to bristles surrounding spikelets)
(ld, BL, Le)

tenax,= holding fast, griping, tenacious.
(holding fast, tough (as opposed to fragilis))
(ld, BL)

(h)emi, = half;
arthron, = a joint, especially the socket of the joint.
(Ox, LS)

meline, = millet.
(LS)

For Johann Samuel Vulpius (1760-1846).**
(Ch)

ΚΕΓΧΡΟΣ, kenchros, = millet; hence any small grain.
kenchros, = millet

(LS, Le)