Chloris virgata |
Chloris canterae |
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feather finger grass, feather windmill-grass, showy chloris |
Paraguayan windmill-grass |
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Habit | Plants annual; usually tufted, occasionally stoloniferous. | Plants perennial; cespitose. | ||||
Culms | 10-100+ cm. |
to 100 cm, erect. |
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Sheaths | usually glabrous; ligules to 4 mm, erose or ciliate; blades to 30 cm long, to 15 mm wide, basal hairs to 4 mm, otherwise usually glabrous, occasionally pilose. |
glabrous; ligules about 0.5 mm, membranous, erose; blades to 25 cm long, 1-6 mm wide, flat or involute, sometimes appearing filiform, bases with hairs to 7 mm. |
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Panicles | digitate, with 4-20, evidently distinct branches; branches 5-10 cm, erect to ascending, averaging 10 spikelets per cm. |
digitate, with 2-9 evidently separate branches; branches 3-14 cm, erect to curving, averaging 11 spikelets per cm. |
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Spikelets | strongly imbricate, with 1 bisexual and 1(2) sterile floret(s). |
strongly imbricate, light to medium brown, with 2(3) sterile florets. |
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Lower glumes | 1.5-2.5 mm; upper glumes 2.5-4.3 mm; lowest lemmas 2.5-4.2 mm, keels usually prominently gibbous, glabrous, or conspicuously pilose, sides not grooved, margins glabrous, scabrous or pilose basally, with conspicuously longer hairs distally, hairs longer than 1.5 mm, lemma apices not conspicuously bilobed, awned, awns 2.5-15 mm; second florets 1.4-2.9 mm long, 0.4-0.8 mm wide, somewhat widened distally, not inflated, bilobed, lobes less than 1/5 as long as the lemmas, awned from the sinuses, awns 3-9.5 mm; third florets greatly reduced, unawned and shorter than the subtending rachilla segment or absent but the rachilla segment present. |
1.6-2.4 mm; upper glumes 2.3-3.8 mm; lowest lemmas 2.7-4.2 mm long, 0.6-1.1 mm wide, marginal veins and keels densely and conspicuously hairy, hairs 1.5-3 mm, awns 2.4-5.5 mm; second florets 1.1-1.8 mm, about 1/2 as wide as long, conspicuously widened distally, laterally compressed, glabrous, truncate, awned, awns 1.5-3.5 mm; distal sterile floret(s) similar but smaller, longer than the subtending rachilla segments, unawned. |
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Caryopses | 1.5-2 mm long, about 0.5 mm wide, elliptic. |
1.3-2 mm long, 0.8-0.9 mm wide, ovoid-ellipsoid. |
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2n | = 20, 26, 30, 40. |
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Chloris virgata |
Chloris canterae |
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Distribution |
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; FL; GA; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; UT; HI
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Discussion | Chloris virgata is a widespread species that grows in many habitats, from tropical to temperate areas with hot summers, including much of the United States. It is a common weed in alfalfa fields of the southwestern United States. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Chloris canterae is native to South America. Both of its varieties are found in the coastal plain of Texas and Louisiana. In South America, they are essentially sympatric, but occupy different habitats. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 25, p. 210. | FNA vol. 25, p. 208. | ||||
Parent taxa | Poaceae > subfam. Chloridoideae > tribe Cynodonteae > Chloris | Poaceae > subfam. Chloridoideae > tribe Cynodonteae > Chloris | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Name authority | Sw. | Arechav. | ||||
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