Sporobolus indicus
Sporobolus cryptandrus
smutgrass
sand dropseed
sheaths glabrous or minutely scabrous;
margins sometimes ciliate distally; tops with conspicuous tufts of hairs; the hairs to 4 mm, ligules of hairs 0.5–1 mm;
blades 2–6 mm wide; upper culm leaf blades nearly perpendicular to the culms.
contracted and spike-like early in development, narrowly pyramidal later, 15–40 cm × 2–12(14) mm;
primary branches appressed, spreading or reflexed; secondary branches appressed.
1.5–2.7 mm.
linear-lanceolate to ovate;
lower glumes 0.6–1.1 mm;
upper glumes 1.5–2.7 mm.
0.7–1.1 mm, light brown to reddish orange.
1.4–2.7 mm; acute.
0.5–1 mm.
=36, 38, 72.
Sporobolus indicus
Sporobolus cryptandrus
[This taxon does not have a floristic treatment in Flora of Oregon.]
Sandy soils and washes, rocky slopes and calcareous ridges, roadsides in sagebrush steppe, dry grasslands, and open forests. 50–1300 m. BR, BW, Col, Lava, Owy. Troughout most of North America. Native.
Sporobolus cryptandrus is a common but inconspicuous perennial that blooms later in summer than most of our other grasses. It is recognized by the conspicuous tuft of hairs at the top of the leaf sheath, just below the blade. Its upper culm leaf blades jut out from the culm at a nearly perpendicular angle.
Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting
Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
