Holcus

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Cladus: Commelinids
Ordo: Poales

Familia: Poaceae
Subfamilia: Pooideae
Tribus: Poeae
Subtribus: Holcinae
Genus: Holcus
Species: H. annuus – H. azoricus – H. caespitosus – H. gayanus – H. grandiflorus – H. hierrensis – H. lanatus – H. mollis – H. notarisii – H. pintodasilvae – H. rigidus – H. setiger

Nothospecies: H. x hybridus
Name

Holcus L., Sp. Pl. 2: 1047. 1753, nom. cons.

Type species: Holcus lanatus L., Sp. Pl.: 1048 (1753)

Synonyms

Homotypic
Arthrochloa R.Br., Chlor. Melvill.: 35. 1823, nom. superfl.
Nothoholcus Nash in N.L.Britton & A.Brown, Ill. Fl. N. U.S., ed. 2, 1: 109. 1913, nom. illeg.

Heterotypic
Sorgum Adans., Fam. Pl. 2: 38, 606. 1763, nom. rej.
Ginannia Bubani, Fl. Pyren. 4: 321. 1901.
Homalachne Kuntze in T.E.von Post & C.E.O.Kuntze, Lex. Gen. Phan.: 285. 1903, nom. illeg.
Notholcus Nash ex Hitchc. in W.L.Jepson, Fl. Calif. 1: 126. 1912, nom. illeg.

References

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus II: 1047. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Holcus in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2019 Dec. 31. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Holcus in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2019 Dec. 31. Reference page.
Simon, B.K., Clayton, W.D., Harman, K.T., Vorontsova, M., Brake, I., Healy, D. & Alfonso, Y. 2013. GrassWorld, Holcus. Published online. Accessed: 2013 Dec. 11.
Tropicos.org 2019. Holcus. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 31 Dec. 2019.
International Plant Names Index. 2013. Holcus. Published online. Accessed: 11 Dec. 2013.
Global Biodiversity Information Facility. 2019. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset. Taxon: Holcus.

Vernacular names
беларуская: Смарганец
Deutsch: Honiggräser
suomi: Mesiheinät

Holcus (soft-grass or velvetgrass) is a genus of African and Eurasian plants in the oat tribe within the grass family.[2][3][4]

Holcus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Coleophora lixella.

Species[1][5][6]

Holcus annuus - Mediterranean and nearby areas from Portugal + Morocco to Caucasus
Holcus azoricus - Azores - possibly a hybrid of H. lanatus and H. rigidus
Holcus caespitosus - Sierra Nevada in southern Spain
Holcus gayanus - Spain, Portugal
Holcus grandiflorus - Spain
Holcus × hybridus - France, Germany, British Isles -- H. lanatus × H. mollis
Holcus lanatus - Europe, Mediterranean + nearby areas from Iceland to Canary Is to Caucasus; naturalized in North + South America, Australia, New Zealand, East Asia, various islands
Holcus mollis - Algeria, Tunisia, most of Europe; naturalized in Australia, new Zealand, scattered locales in North America
Holcus notarisii - Macedonia, Italy
Holcus rigidus - Azores
Holcus setiger - Cape Prov of South Africa

formerly included[1]

Several species now regarded as better suited to other genera; Andropogon Arrhenatherum Arundinella Bothriochloa Capillipedium Centotheca Chasmanthium Chrysopogon Deschampsia Heteropogon Hierochloe Pennisetum Pentameris Pseudoraphis Rostraria Sorghum Sporobolus Ventenata
References

Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 2: 1047-1049 in Latin
Tropicos, Holcus L.
Altervista Flora Italiana genere Holcus
The Plant List search for Holcus
Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution maps