Dichanthelium wilcoxianum
Dichanthelium pedicellatum
fall panicum, fall rosette grass, Wilcox's panicgrass
cedar rosette grass, corm-based panicgrass
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.
20-70 cm, initially erect, with hard, cormlike bases;
nodes puberulent to sparsely hirsute;
internodes all elongated, puberulent to hirsute;
fall phase with 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.
4-7;
sheaths sometimes overlapping, puberulent to papillose-hispid, margins ciliate;
ligules 0.3-1 mm, membranous and ciliate;
blades 3-12 cm long, 2-8 mm wide, widening distal to the rounded or subcordate bases, thin, glabrous or sparsely hirsute, 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.
3.2-4.4 mm long, 1.3-1.6 mm wide, narrowly obovoid-ellipsoid, papillose-hirsute, attenuate to the purplish bases.
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.
about 1/2 as long as the spikelets, narrowly triangular, subadjacent to the upper glumes, not encircling the pedicels;
upper glumes about 0.3 mm shorter than the upper florets;
lower florets sterile;
upper florets with pointed, minutely 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 3-6 cm long, 2-4 cm wide, exserted;
branches spreading at maturity;
pedicels somewhat divergent.
= 18.
= 18.
Dichanthelium wilcoxianum
Dichanthelium pedicellatum
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 pedicellatum grows on limestone outcroppings and in dry, open oak woodlands. Its range extends from Texas into Mexico and Guatemala. Primary panicles develop from late March into June (and sometimes from late August to November) and are open-pollinated; secondary panicles develop from May into fall and are at least partly cleistogamous.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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