Sporobolus pyramidatus
Sporobolus airoides
alkali sacaton
sheaths shiny; tops glabrous or sparsely hairy; the hairs to 6 mm, ligules of hairs 0.1–0.3 mm;
blades (1)2– 5(6) mm wide; upper culm leaf blades ascending.
di?use; (10)15–45 × 15–25 cm, bases often included in uppermost sheath; primary and secondary branches spreading; brownish.
1.3–2.8 mm.
lanceolate to ovate;
lower glumes 1.5–1.8 mm;
upper glumes 1.1–2.8 mm.
1–1.4 mm; reddish brown.
1.2–2.5 mm; acute.
1.1–1.8 mm.
=80, 90, 108, 126.
Sporobolus pyramidatus
Sporobolus airoides
Dry, alkaline, sandy soils. 400–1300m. BR, Owy. CA, ID, NV, WA, north to British Columbia, east to MO, south to Mexico. Native.
Sporobolus airoides is a cespitose perennial of sandy, alkaline soils. It has a large, open panicle. The common name alkali sacaton is sometimes applied to Muhlenbergia asperifolia, a common rhizomatous perennial of alkaline, often fine-textured soils, which has a smaller, whitish inflorescence. Panicum capillare and P. dichotomiflorum have di?use panicles like S. airoides and can grow in fairly alkaline habitats. They are both annuals, and their spikelets are dorsiventrally compressed.
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
