Dichanthelium strigosum
Dichanthelium consanguineum
cushion-tuft panicgrass, roughhair rosette grass
blood panicgrass, Kunth's panicgrass
5-45 cm, slender, erect or spreading;
from a dense tuft of predominantly basal leaves, lower internodes short, upper 3-5 internodes elongate;
nodes glabrous or bearded;
internodes glabrous or pilose;
fall phase with spreading culms and branches arising from near the bases forming a dense, flat tuft.
20-55 cm, erect;
nodes densely bearded;
internodes densely villous;
fall phase with spreading culms branching from the lower and midculm nodes, eventually producing flabellate clusters of reduced, flat blades, secondary panicles much reduced.
2-4;
lower cauline sheaths longer than the internodes, mostly glabrous or pilose with ascending hairs, margins finely ciliate;
ligules 0.2-2 mm, at low magnification appearing to be membranous and ciliate, at high magnification evidently of hairs that are coherent at the base;
blades 1.5-6 cm long, 3-8 mm wide, lanceolate, glabrous or softly pilose, margins with prominent papillose-based cilia, at least basally.
3-4;
sheaths shorter than the internodes, pilose with ascending papillose-based hairs to villous;
ligules 0.5-2 mm, of hairs;
blades 4-12 cm long, 2-8 mm wide, stiffly ascending to erect, often wrinkled along the prominent veins, usually villous on both surfaces, apices involute-pointed, blades of the flag leaves much reduced.
1.1-2.1 mm, obovoid to broadly ellipsoid, glabrous or pubescent, hairs not papillose-based.
2.3-3 mm long, 1.4-1.8 mm wide, obovoid, biconvex in side view, densely pubescent, attenuate basally.
1/3 - 1/2 as long as the spikelets, acute to obtuse;
upper florets 0.8-1.7 mm, ellipsoid, subacute.
about 1/3 as long as the spikelets, attached about 0.2 mm below the upper glumes, clasping at the base, broadly triangular, thinner than the upper glumes, weakly veined;
upper glumes with 5-9 prominent veins;
lower florets sterile;
upper florets broadly ellipsoid, apices blunt, minutely puberulent.
rosettes poorly differentiated;
blades 1-5 cm, lanceolate, grading into the cauline blades.
rosettes poorly differentiated;
blades 2-8 cm, ovate to lanceolate, grading into the cauline blades.
panicles short- to long-exserted;
rachises and branches often pilose.
panicles 3-7 cm long, 1-4 cm wide, well-exserted;
branches usually ascending, glabrous or puberulent.
= 18.
Dichanthelium strigosum
Dichanthelium consanguineum
Dichanthelium strigosum extends from the southeastern Flora region south into Mexico, the Caribbean, and into northern South America.
The primary panicles are briefly open-pollinated in April or May; the secondary panicles, which are produced from May through November, are cleistogamous. The three subspecies are mostly sympatric and sometimes grow together, with occasional intergradation.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Dichanthelium consanguineum grows in sandy woodlands and low, boggy pinelands. It is restricted to the southeastern United States. The primary panicles are open-pollinated and produced from April to June; the secondary panicles are cleistogamous and produced from June into fall. Some specimens of D. consanguineum suggest that hybridization occasionally occurs with D. aciculare or D. ovale.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Spikelets pubescent, broadly ellipsoid, 1.6-2.1 mm long; lower glumes about 1/2 as long as the spikelets; blades glabrous | subsp. leucoblepharis |
1. Spikelets glabrous, obovoid, 1.1-1.8 mm long; lower glumes about 1/3 as long as the spikelets; blades pilose or glabrous. | → 2 |
2. Blades pilose; spikelets 1.1-1.6 mm long | subsp. strigosum |
2. Blades glabrous or sparsely pilose near the base; spikelets 1.4-1.8 mm long | subsp. glabrescens |
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