Dichanthelium strigosum
Dichanthelium ovale
cushion-tuft panicgrass, roughhair rosette grass
eggleaf rosette grass, stiff-leaf panicgrass, stiff-leaf rosette-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.
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.
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.
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.
1.1-2.1 mm, obovoid to broadly ellipsoid, glabrous or pubescent, hairs not papillose-based.
1.8-3 mm, ellipsoid or obovoid, densely to sparsely pilose or papillose-pilose, obtuse or slightly acute.
1/3 - 1/2 as long as the spikelets, acute to obtuse;
upper florets 0.8-1.7 mm, ellipsoid, subacute.
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 poorly differentiated;
blades 1-5 cm, lanceolate, grading into the cauline blades.
rosettes well-differentiated;
blades 1-8 cm, lanceolate, often conspicuously ciliate.
panicles short- to long-exserted;
rachises and branches often pilose.
panicles 3-10 cm long, nearly as wide when fully expanded;
rachises and branches often stiffly ascending or spreading, usually pilose basally.
=18.
Dichanthelium strigosum
Dichanthelium ovale
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 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 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 |
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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