Bothriochloa pertusa
Bothriochloa bladhii
pitted beardgrass, pitted bluestem
Australian beardgrass, Australian bluestem, Caucasian bluestem
to 100 cm, often decumbent or stoloniferous, freely branching;
nodes bearded.
40-90(150) cm, usually erect;
nodes glabrous or short hispid, with mostly appressed, less than 2 mm hairs.
mostly basal, green, sometimes glaucous;
sheaths glabrous, keeled;
ligules 0.7-1.5 mm;
blades 3-15 cm long, 3-4 mm wide, flat, margins and ligule regions hairy.
cauline;
ligules 0.5-1.5 mm;
blades (10)20-35(40) cm long, 1-4.5(5.5) mm wide, mostly glabrous.
3-5 cm, fan-shaped, often purplish;
rachises 0.2-2 cm, with 3-8 branches;
branches 3-4.5 cm, longer than the rachises, usually with 1 rame;
rame internodes with villous margins, with 1-3 mm hairs.
5-15(24) cm, elliptic to lanceolate, reddish at maturity;
rachises 6-12(20) cm, with numerous branches;
branches 3-7 cm, shorter than the rachises, erect to spreading during anthesis, with axillary pulvini, lower branches with multiple rames;
rame internodes with darkened grooves, with sparse, about 1 mm marginal hairs.
spikelets 3-4 mm, lanceolate;
callus hairs about 1 mm;
lower glumes sparsely hirtellous, with a prominent dorsal pit near the middle;
awns 10-17 mm;
anthers 1-1.8 mm, yellow.
spikelets 3.5-4 mm, oblong-ovate;
lower glumes glabrous or scabrous, with or without a dorsal pit;
awns 10-17 mm, twisted, geniculate;
anthers 1-2 mm.
spikelets the same size as the sessile spikelets, sterile, pitted or not, occasionally with 2 pits.
spikelets about the same size and shape as the sessile spikelets, or about 1/2 their size, staminate or sterile.
= 40, 60.
= 40, 60, 80.
Bothriochloa pertusa
Bothriochloa bladhii
Bothriochloa pertusa is native to the Eastern Hemisphere, and was introduced to the southern United States as a warm-season pasture grass. It now grows in disturbed, moist, grassy places and pastures in the region, at elevations of 2-200 m. It has not persisted at all locations shown on the map.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Bothriochloa bladhii grows along roadsides and in rangeland pastures, waste ground, and open disturbed areas, at 150-1800 m. It is native to subtropical Asia and Africa and was introduced to the Flora region as a forage grass. It is now established in the southern and central United States. A similar species, B. decipiens (Hack.) C.E. Hubb., has been grown at some experiment stations in the United States. It is not known to be established in North America. Bothriochloa decipiens differs from B. bladhii in having longer (4.7-5.3 mm) sessile spikelets and a single anther.
The Eastern Hemisphere species of Bothriochloa are thought to be closely related to Capillipedium and Dichanthium, largely because B. bladhii hybridizes with those genera as well as with B. ischaemum.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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