Burke: Sporobolus indicus vs. Sporobolus cryptandrus

	Sporobolus indicus	Sporobolus cryptandrus
		sand dropseed
Habit		Strongly tufted perennial, the culms 3-7 dm. tall, solid and grooved.
Leaves		Sheaths open, mostly glabrous, with hairs at the throat; ligules 0.5-0.7 mm. long; blades involute, 2-4 mm. broad, mostly smooth, but with long, soft hairs along the margins bordering the ligule.
Flowers		Inflorescence a moderately-open panicle 10-20 cm. long, partially included in the sheath, the branches simple to again branched, spikelet-bearing to near the base, stiffly ascending; spikelets 1-flowered; glumes 1-nerved, acute, unequal, the first about 1 mm. long, the second twice as long; lemma 2-2.5 mm. long, acute, 1-nerved, awnless and glabrous, about equaled by the 2-nerved palea.

	Sporobolus indicus	Sporobolus cryptandrus
Flowering time		June-September
Habitat		Sagebrush desert, especilly where sandy, to the foothills and grassland.
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to southern California, east across most of North America to the Atlantic Coast except in the extreme southeastern U.S. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin		Native
Conservation status		Not of concern
Sibling taxa	S. airoides, S. compositus, S. cryptandrus, S. neglectus	S. airoides, S. compositus, S. neglectus
Web links	Local floras: CA, OR 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	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

Sporobolus indicus

Sporobolus cryptandrus

sand dropseed

Habit

Strongly tufted perennial, the culms 3-7 dm. tall, solid and grooved.

Leaves

Sheaths open, mostly glabrous, with hairs at the throat;

ligules 0.5-0.7 mm. long;

blades involute, 2-4 mm. broad, mostly smooth, but with long, soft hairs along the margins bordering the ligule.

Flowers

Inflorescence a moderately-open panicle 10-20 cm. long, partially included in the sheath, the branches simple to again branched, spikelet-bearing to near the base, stiffly ascending;

spikelets 1-flowered;

glumes 1-nerved, acute, unequal, the first about 1 mm. long, the second twice as long;

lemma 2-2.5 mm. long, acute, 1-nerved, awnless and glabrous, about equaled by the 2-nerved palea.

Sporobolus indicus

Sporobolus cryptandrus

Flowering time

June-September

Habitat

Sagebrush desert, especilly where sandy, to the foothills and grassland.

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to southern California, east across most of North America to the Atlantic Coast except in the extreme southeastern U.S.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Origin

Native

Conservation status

Not of concern

Sibling taxa

S. airoides, S. compositus, S. cryptandrus, S. neglectus

S. airoides, S. compositus, S. neglectus

Web links