Dichanthelium wilcoxianum
Dichanthelium oligosanthes
fall panicum, fall rosette grass, Wilcox's panicgrass
few-flower panic grass, few-flower rosette-panicgrass, few-flower witchgrass, fewanther obscuregrass, Heller's rosette grass, Scribner's panic grass, Scribner's perennial panicgrass, Scribner's witchgrass
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.
20-75 cm, geniculate basally, stiffly erect distally;
nodes glabrous or sparsely pubescent;
internodes often purplish, glabrous, puberulent, or papillose-hirsute;
fall phase branching from the midculm nodes, branches initially ascending to erect, sometimes developing simultaneously with and overtopping the primary panicles, later rebranching to form short, bushy clumps of blades and small, included secondary panicles.
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.
5-7;
sheaths not overlapping, glabrous, puberulent, or ascending papillose-hispid, margins ciliate, collars loose, puberulent;
ligules 1-3 mm, of hairs;
blades 5-12 cm long, 4-15 mm wide, flat or partly involute, glabrous or pubescent abaxially, with 7-9 major veins only slightly more prominent than the minor veins, bases ciliate, rounded to truncate, margins cartilaginous.
2.4-3.2 mm long, 0.7-1.2 mm wide, ellipsoid to obovoid, often reddish throughout, short-pubescent.
2.7-4.2 mm long, 1.7-2.4 mm wide, ellipsoid to broadly obovoid, turgid, glabrous or sparsely pubescent.
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.
1-1.6 mm, acute, similar in texture and vein prominence to the upper glumes;
upper glumes strongly veined, often orange to purplish at the base;
lower florets sterile;
upper florets with minutely umbonate apices.
rosettes poorly differentiated;
sheaths glabrous;
blades 2-4 cm, narrow, similar to those of the lower cauline leaves, ascending to spreading.
rosettes well-differentiated;
blades 2-6 cm, few, ovate to lanceolate.
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 5-9 cm long, 3-6 cm wide, partly enclosed to long-exserted, with 6-60 spikelets;
branches stiff or wiry, puberulent or scabridulous.
= 18.
= 18.
Dichanthelium wilcoxianum
Dichanthelium oligosanthes
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 oligosanthes grows throughout the southern portion of the Flora region and extends into northern Mexico. The primary panicles are briefly open-pollinated, then cleistogamous, from late May to early June; the secondary panicles, which are produced from June to November, are cleistogamous. The subspecies intergrade in areas of overlapping range, but they are usually distinct elsewhere.
Specimens of Dichanthelium oligosanthes that have few elongated internodes, but those elongated more than usual, are often mistaken for D. wilcoxianum. Unlike that species, however, they have turgid spikelets with an orange spot at the base of the lemma, indicating that they belong to D. oligosanthes. Such specimens seem to be most common among collections made in the southern and southwestern states during November, February, or March.
Sterile hybrids with Dichanthelium acuminatum have often been called Panicum scoparioid.es Ashe. Apparent hybrids with D. malacophyllum, D. ovale, and D. acuminatum subsp. columbianum are occasionally found.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Spikelets ellipsoid to oblong-obovoid, usually 3.4-4.2 mm long, 1.7-2 mm wide, usually sparsely pubescent; blades usually 4-9 mm wide, more than 10 times longer than wide, often partly imolute; ligules 2-3 mm | subsp. oligosanthes |
1. Spikelets broadly obovoid-ellipsoid, 2.7-3.5 mm long, 2-2.4 mm wide, usually glabrous; blades usually 6-15 mm wide, less than 10 times longer than wide, flat; ligules 1-1.5 mm long | subsp. scribnerianum |
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