Dichanthelium portoricense
Dichanthelium ovale
blunt-glumed panicgrass
eggleaf rosette grass, stiff-leaf panicgrass, stiff-leaf rosette-panicgrass
15-50 cm, slender, wiry;
internodes olive green to purplish, densely puberulent or glabrous;
fall phase spreading or decumbent, branching extensively from the lower and midculm nodes, producing numerous congested fascicles of reduced, flat or involute blades and reduced secondary panicles.
15-60 cm, usually more than 1 mm thick, not delicate, mostly ascending or spreading, often decumbent;
nodes densely to sparsely bearded with spreading, retrorse, or appressed hairs;
internodes, particularly the lower internodes, usually long-hairy with appressed or ascending hairs, occasionally with spreading hairs, occasionally with shorter hairs, rarely nearly glabrous;
fall phase with decumbent to prostrate culms, branching developing early and forming dense fascicles with erect, slightly reduced blades and greatly reduced secondary panicles.
4-7;
sheaths much shorter than the internodes, densely crisp-puberulent, velvety-puberulent, or glabrous, often ciliate along the margins;
ligules shorter than 0.5 mm;
blades 2-7 cm long (seldom longer), 2.5-8 mm wide (rarely wider), spreading, firm, flat or slightly involute, without prominently raised veins, not longitudinally wrinkled, densely puberulent or glabrous abaxially, glabrous, sparsely puberulent, or pubescent adaxially, bases subcordate, with papillose-based cilia, margins often whitish and scabridulous.
4-7;
sheaths shorter than the internodes, pilose, hairs to 4 mm, occasionally with shorter, spreading hairs underneath;
ligules and pseudoligules 1-5 mm, of hairs;
blades 4-10 cm long, 3-10 mm wide, relatively firm, mostly ascending or spreading, 1 or both surfaces sparsely to densely pubescent with appressed or erect hairs, hairs to 5 mm, bases rounded or slightly narrowed, margins often whitish, ciliate basally, scabridulous elsewhere.
1.5-2.6 mm, obovoid-pyriform, planoconvex in side view, puberulent, pubescent, or glabrous, attenuate basally, apices usually broadly rounded.
1.8-3 mm, ellipsoid or obovoid, densely to sparsely pilose or papillose-pilose, obtuse or slightly acute.
0.6-1.4 mm, thin, weakly-veined, attached about 0.2 mm below the upper glumes, clasping at the base;
upper glumes as long as or slightly shorter than the lower lemmas;
upper florets 1.4-2 mm, broadly ellipsoid, apices subacute, minutely puberulent.
1/3 – 1/2 as long as the spikelets, often triangular, not strongly veined, usually acute or subacute;
upper glumes usually slightly shorter than the lower lemmas and upper florets at maturity, not strongly veined;
lower florets sterile;
upper florets 1.6-2.5 mm, ellipsoid (slightly less than 1/2 as wide as long, or wider in subsp. praecocius), subacute.
rosettes well-differentiated;
blades 1.5-6 cm, ovate to lanceolate.
rosettes well-differentiated;
blades 1-8 cm, lanceolate, often conspicuously ciliate.
panicles 2-7 cm long, 2/3 to nearly as wide as long, with relatively few spikelets, exserted;
branches flexuous, spreading or reflexed, scabridulous to densely puberulent.
panicles 3-10 cm long, nearly as wide when fully expanded;
rachises and branches often stiffly ascending or spreading, usually pilose basally.
= 18.
=18.
Dichanthelium portoricense
Dichanthelium ovale
Dichanthelium portoricense grows in sandy woods, low pinelands, savannahs, and coastal sand dunes, usually in moist places. Its range extends south from the Flora region into Mexico, the Caribbean, and Mesoamerica. It is a highly variable species with numerous intergrading forms, some possibly resulting from hybridization with other widespread species in the same region, such as D. sphaerocarpon and D. commutatum.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Dichanthelium ovale grows in dry, open, sandy or rocky woodland borders, sand barrens, dunes, and dry prairies in southeastern Canada, the eastern United States, the West Indies, Mexico, and Central America. The four subspecies often intergrade, especially subsp. villosissimum and subsp. pseudopubescens in the southeastern United States, and subsp. villosissimum and subsp. praecocius in the western part of their range.
The growth form and certain morphological features of Dichanthelium ovale resemble those of the widespread D. laxiflorum, which usually grows in more mesic habitats. Occasional specimens exhibit traits of D. acuminatum, D. oligosanthes, and D. commutatum.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Spikelets 1.8-2.6 mm long, usually densely pubescent or puberulent (rarely glabrous); cauline blades 4-7 cm long, 3.5-8 mm wide | subsp. patulum |
1. Spikelets 1.5-2.0 mm long, puberulent to nearly glabrous; cauline blades 2-5 cm long, 2.5-4.5 mm wide | subsp. portoricense |
1. Lower sheaths and lower culm internodes with soft, spreading or retrorse, papillose-based hairs, the longer hairs often longer than 4 mm long; spikelets 1.8-2.5 mm long. | → 2 |
2. Spikelets 2.1-2.5 mm long; culms usually more than 1 mm thick, stiff; largest blades usually 6-10 mm wide | subsp. villosissimum |
2. Spikelets 1.8-2.1 mm long; culms usually less than 1 mm thick, wiry; largest blades usually 2-6 mm wide | subsp. praecocius |
1. Lower sheaths and lower culm internodes with ascending or appressed, non-papillose-based hairs shorter than 4 mm or nearly glabrous; spikelets 2.1-3 mm long. | → 2 |
3. Spikelets 2.5-3 mm long; basal blades with long hairs on or near the margins and bases | subsp. ovale |
3. Spikelets 2.1-2.6 mm long; basal blades usually without long hairs on or near the margins and bases | subsp. pseudopubescens |
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