Dichanthelium wilcoxianum
Dichanthelium nodatum
fall panicum, fall rosette grass, Wilcox's panicgrass
sarita panicgrass, sarita rosette grass
15-35 cm, stiffly erect, all but the upper 2-4 internodes very short;
nodes glabrous or with weak, reflexed hairs;
internodes purplish-gray, sparsely pubescent;
fall phase developing early, forming erect branches from the lower or midculm nodes, each branch terminating in a partially included panicle of 8-16 spikelets, no sterile shoots formed.
20-65 cm, decumbent to ascending even in spring, with hard, cormlike bases;
nodes puberulent to sparsely pubescent;
internodes scabrous-puberulent to papillose-hirsute;
fall phase with geniculate to decumbent culms, developing divaricate branches from the midculm nodes before the primary panicles mature.
usually 3;
sheaths hirsute, hairs papillose-based;
ligules 0.5-1 mm;
blades 4-8 cm long, 2-5 mm wide, all alike, stiffly erect, green to grayish-green, flat, not plicate, sparsely pilose.
8-14;
sheaths not overlapping, puberulent to papillose-hirsute, margins ciliate;
ligules 0.1-1 mm, of hairs;
blades 3-9 cm long, 4-8 mm wide, thick, firm, puberulent, sides parallel above the rounded to truncate bases, margins with papillose-based cilia.
2.4-3.2 mm long, 0.7-1.2 mm wide, ellipsoid to obovoid, often reddish throughout, short-pubescent.
3.4-4.4 mm long, 1.3-1.6 mm wide, narrowly obovoid-obpyriform, finely pubescent, hairs papillose-based, bases long, narrow.
0.7-1.2 mm, triangular;
upper glumes and lower lemmas about equaling the upper florets;
upper florets 1.9-2.5 mm, ellipsoid, pointed.
1.5-2 mm, attached about 0.2 mm below the upper glumes, partly or completely encircling the pedicels;
upper glumes about 0.3 mm shorter than the upper florets, purplish at the bases;
lower florets sterile;
upper florets with pointed, puberulent apices.
rosettes poorly differentiated;
sheaths glabrous;
blades 2-4 cm, narrow, similar to those of the lower cauline leaves, ascending to spreading.
rosettes absent.
panicles 3-5 cm long, 2-4 cm wide, ovoid, open, shortly exserted, with 12-32 spikelets;
branches short, stiff, spreading;
pedicels mostly 4-8 mm, spreading.
panicles 3-13 cm long, 2-8 cm wide, exserted;
branches ascending to divaricate at maturity;
pedicels appressed.
, pers.
., 2001).
= 18.
= 18 (J.
Dichanthelium wilcoxianum
Dichanthelium nodatum
Dichanthelium wilcoxianum grows in dry prairies, especially in sandy or gravelly openings. It is restricted to the Flora region. The primary panicles, which are produced from mid-May to early June, are partially open-pollinated; the secondary panicles, which are produced in June, and occasionally also in September, are cleistogamous.
Some specimens of Dichanthelium oligosanthes subsp. scribnerianum from the southern Great Plains that have prematurely elongating upper internodes resemble D. wilcoxianum, but they have greenish spikelets that are 1.7-2.4 mm wide, an orange spot at the base of the glumes, and larger basal rosettes.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Dichanthelium nodatum grows in oak savannahs near the Gulf coast from Texas to northeastern Mexico. The primary panicles are produced from April into June (sometimes late August to November) and are at least partly open-pollinated; the secondary panicles are produced from May into fall and are at least partly cleistogamous.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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