Dichanthelium portoricense
Dichanthelium wrightianum
blunt-glumed panicgrass
Wright's panicgrass, Wright's rosette grass, Wright's 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.
15-50 cm tall (rarely taller), 0.3-0.8 mm thick, delicate, erect or ascending;
nodes slightly swollen, often purplish or darker green than the internodes;
internodes usually puberulent;
fall phase branching profusely from the lower and midculm nodes, secondary branches and secondary panicles numerous, usually not greatly reduced.
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 mostly puberulent or glabrous, margins finely ciliate;
ligules 1.5-3 mm, of hairs;
blades 2-4.5 cm long, 2-5 mm wide, ascending or spreading, occasionally involute, finely appressed-pilose adaxially, puberulent abaxially, bases rounded, margins finely whitish-scabridulous.
1.5-2.6 mm, obovoid-pyriform, planoconvex in side view, puberulent, pubescent, or glabrous, attenuate basally, apices usually broadly rounded.
0.8-1.1 mm, ellipsoid to nearly ovoid, often purplish, puberulent or subglabrous, obtuse or subacute.
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.
1/4 - 1/3 as long as the spikelets, subacute;
upper glumes shorter than the lower lemmas;
lower florets sterile;
upper florets 0.7-0.9 mm, ellipsoid, subacute.
rosettes well-differentiated;
blades 1.5-6 cm, ovate to lanceolate.
rosettes well-differentiated;
blades ovate to lanceolate.
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 2.5-5.5 cm, 1/3 – 2/3 as wide as long, well-exserted;
rachises and branches glabrous or sparsely puberulent (at least basally); ultimate branchlets and pedicels glabrous, somewhat viscid.
= 18.
= 18.
Dichanthelium portoricense
Dichanthelium wrightianum
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 wrightianum grows in moist, sandy or peaty areas, low pine savannahs, bogs, the margins of ponds, and cypress swamps, in the coastal plain from Massachusetts to Texas and Florida, extending to Cuba, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. Occasional specimens of Dichanthelium wrightianum, particularly those with subglabrous spikelets, closely resemble D. chamaelonche. Others suggest D. ensifolium, and a few unusually robust specimens closely approach D. acuminatum subsp. longiligulatum. All of these taxa often grow together in the same habitats.
(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 |
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