Dichanthelium linearifolium
Dichanthelium perlongum
linear-leaf panicgrass, linear-leaf rosette-panicgrass, panic à feuilles linéaires, slim-leaf rosette grass, slimleaf panicgrass, slimleaf panicum
long-stalk panic grass
10-50 cm, very slender, erect to drooping, lower 3-8 internodes telescoped together, less than 2 cm, upper 2 internodes elongated;
nodes bearded;
internodes pubescent to almost glabrous;
fall phase developing a dense mass of erect blades and foreshortened branches arising from the basal nodes, terminating in small, narrow secondary panicles that are enclosed within the sheaths, with 6-15 spikelets.
10-50 cm, erect, lower 3-6 internodes telescoped together, forming a slender 2-4 cm column, upper 2 internodes elongated;
nodes bearded;
internodes puberulent and pubescent;
fall phase with sterile branches arising near ground level and foreshortened reproductive branches arising from the higher nodes, secondary panicles small and narrow, enclosed within the sheaths, with 5-10 spikelets.
2-4;
sheaths longer than the internodes, glabrous or pilose with dense, fine, papillose-based hairs;
ligules about 0.5 mm;
blades 5-20 cm long, 2-5 mm wide, stiffly ascending to erect, green to grayish-green, glabrous or densely pilose, apices long-tapering, lower blades shorter than the upper 2 or 3 blades.
2-4;
sheaths longer than the internodes, pilose;
ligules about 0.5 mm;
blades 5-20 cm long, 1-3.5 mm wide, stiffly erect, long-tapering, sometimes involute, green or grayish-green, pubescent to pilose, upper 2 or 3 blades much longer than those below.
2-3.2 mm long, 0.8-1.4 mm wide, ellipsoid, not turgid, sparsely pubescent.
2.6-3.4 mm long, 1-1.7 mm wide, ellipsoid-obovoid, turgid, finely pubescent.
0.6-1.1 mm, ovate-triangular;
upper glumes and lower lemmas exceeding the upper florets by about 0.2 mm before flowering, subequal in fruit, slightly pointed at maturity, upper florets 1.7-2.3 mm, ovoid-ellipsoid, minutely umbonate.
1-1.4 mm, broadly ovate;
upper glumes and lower lemmas exceeding the upper florets by 0.2-0.3 mm before flowering, slightly pointed at maturity, upper florets obovoid, 1.9-2.7 mm, minutely umbonate.
rosettes poorly differentiated;
blades similar in shape to the lower cauline blades, narrow, ascending.
rosettes poorly developed;
sheaths 2-4 cm;
blades similar in shape to the lower cauline blades, narrow, ascending.
panicles 4-10 cm long, 2-6 cm wide, long-exserted, with 12-70 spikelets;
branches and pedicels spreading.
panicles 3-8 cm long, 1-3 cm wide, narrowly ellipsoid, long-exserted, with 12-25 spikelets;
branches ascending;
pedicels 2-4 mm, appressed.
= 18.
= 18.
Dichanthelium linearifolium
Dichanthelium perlongum
Dichanthelium linearifolium grows in dry, open woodlands, rock outcroppings, and sandy areas. It is restricted to the Flora region. The primary panicles are briefly open-pollinated, produced from May to early June; the secondary panicles are cleistogamous, produced from late June through July (rarely in fall). Plants in the northern United States and Canada tend to be shorter and more spreading, subglabrous, and to have spikelets 2-2.6 mm long; they have been called Panicum werneri Scribn., but do not merit taxonomic recognition. In the southwestern part of its range, especially in the Ozarks, most plants of D. linearifolium are tall, erect, densely pilose, with very elongated blades and spikelets often 2.6-3 mm long; they may hybridize with D. perlongum.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Dichanthelium perlongum grows in dry to mesic prairies, and is restricted to the Flora region. It appears to hybridize occasionally with D. depauperatum and D. linearifolium. The primary panicles are briefly open-pollinated and develop from May to early June; the secondary panicles are cleistogamous and are produced from mid-June through mid-July.
Dichanthelium perlongum is similar to D. wilcoxianum, but differs in having only the upper 1 or 2 blades greatly elongated (usually more than 20 times longer than wide), narrow, erect basal blades, and a contracted panicle with ascending branches. Dichanthelium acuminatum also may also be confused with D. perlongum only if its upper internodes elongate, as tends to be the case after a spring fire, but D. acuminatum has less turgid spikelets and hairs in the ligule area that are 3-5 mm long.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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