Bothriochloa pertusa
Bothriochloa springfieldii
pitted beardgrass, pitted bluestem
Springfield bluestem, Springfield's beardgrass
to 100 cm, often decumbent or stoloniferous, freely branching;
nodes bearded.
30-80 cm, erect, unbranched;
nodes prominently bearded, hairs 3-7 mm, spreading, silvery-white.
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.
mostly basal;
ligules 1-2.5 mm;
blades 5-30 cm long, 2-3(5) mm wide, flat to folded, glabrous or sparsely hispid adaxially, pilose near the throat.
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.
4-9 cm, oblong to fan-shaped;
rachises 1-5 cm, with 2-9 branches;
branches 4-8 cm, longer than the rachises, with 1(2) rames;
rame internodes with a membranous groove wider than the margins, margins densely white-villous, hairs 5-10 mm, obscuring the sessile spikelets.
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 5.5-8.5 mm, lanceolate;
lower glumes densely short-pilose on the lower M, sometimes with a dorsal pit;
awns 18-26 mm;
anthers 1-1.5 mm.
spikelets the same size as the sessile spikelets, sterile, pitted or not, occasionally with 2 pits.
spikelets 3.5-5.5 mm, sterile.
= 40, 60.
= 120.
Bothriochloa pertusa
Bothriochloa springfieldii
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 springfieldii grows in rocky uplands, ravines, plains, sandy areas, and roadsides, from southern Utah to western Texas and Mexico at 900-2500 m. and, as a disjunct in northwest Louisiana. It differs from B. barbinodis in its less robust habit, narrower blades, longer nodal hairs, and fewer, more hairy panicle branches, and from B. edwardsiana in its pubescent nodes and wider, non-ciliate leaf blades.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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