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guleaf barnyard-grass, gulf barnyard grass, gulf cockspur grass

late barnyard grass, rice barnyardgrass

Japanese millet

Habit Plants annual or short-lived perennials. Plants annual. Plants annual.
Culms

30-150 cm;

nodes glabrous.

40-150 cm, erect or nearly so, densely tufted;

lower nodes usually antrorsely scabrous or villous;

upper nodes glabrous.

80-150 cm tall, 4-10 mm thick, glabrous.

Sheaths

glabrous, often purplish;

ligules absent;

blades 12-60 cm long, 10-25 mm wide, glabrous.

glabrous;

ligules absent, ligule region sometimes pubescent;

blades 10-50 cm long, 5-25 mm wide.

Panicles

10-30 cm, erect or drooping, nodes sparsely hispid, hairs papillose-based, internodes glabrous;

primary branches to 14 cm, nodes sometimes sparsely hispid, hairs papillose-based, internodes usually glabrous;

secondary branches to 3 cm.

8-20 cm, erect to slightly drooping, rachis nodes hispid,with papillose-based hairs to 5.6 mm, internodes usually scabrous, sometimes also with a few papillose-based hairs;

primary branches to 4 cm.

7-30 cm, dense, rachis nodes densely hispid, hairs papillose-based, internodes scabrous;

primary branches 2-5 cm, erect or spreading, simple or branched, often incurved at maturity, nodes hispid, hairs papillose-based, internodes usually scabrous;

longer pedicels 0.5-1 mm.

Spikelets

2.5-3.4 mm long, 1.2-1.4 mm wide, disarticulating at maturity.

4-6 mm, ovoid to ellipsoid, disarticulating at maturity.

3-4 mm long, 2-2.5 mm wide, not or only tardily disarticulating at maturity, obtuse to shortly acute, purplish to blackish-brown at maturity.

Caryopses

1.2-1.5 mm long, 1-1.3 mm wide;

embryos 50-70% as long as the caryopses.

1.7-2.6 mm, brownish;

embryos 89-98% as long as the caryopses.

1.2-2.3 mm, brownish;

embryos 84-96% as long as the caryopses.

Upper

glumes subequal to the spikelets;

lower florets sterile;

lower lemmas unawned or awned, awns 3-10(15) mm, curved;

lower paleas absent, vestigial, or well-developed;

upper lemmas narrowly elliptic, not or scarcely exceeding the upper glumes, acute or obtuse, with a well-differentiated, early-withering tip, glabrous or pubescent at the base of the tip, hairs not forming a line across the base;

anthers 0.5-0.7 mm.

glumes narrower and shorter than the upper lemmas;

lower florets sterile;

lower lemmas usually unawned;

lower paleas shorter and narrower than the lemmas;

upper lemmas longer and wider than the upper glumes, broadly ovate to ovate-orbicular, shortly apiculate, exposed distally at maturity;

anthers 1-1.2 mm.

Lower

sheaths densely pubescent;

upper sheaths glabrous or pubescent at the throat, and sometimes on the collar;

ligules absent;

blades stiff, ascending, lower blades pubescent, upper blades usually glabrous.;

lower glumes usually at least 1/2 as long as the spikelets;

upper glumes equaling or exceeding the upper florets;

lower florets sterile;

lower lemmas often thickened and somewhat coriaceous, unawned or awned, awns to 1.5 mm;

lower paleas well-developed;

upper lemmas broadly ovate to elliptical, coriaceous portion rounded distally, passing abruptly into an early-withering, acuminate, membranus tip that is further demarcated from the coriaceous portion by minute hairs (use 25x magnification);

anthers 0.9-1.2 mm.

2n

= 36.

= 36.

= 54.

Echinochloa crus-pavonis

Echinochloa phyllopogon

Echinochloa esculenta

Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; FL; KS; LA; MD; MO; MS; NM; NV; OK; OR; TX; UT; PR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; FL; MO; NY; HI
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Echinochloa crus-pavonis is a native species found in scattered locations from British Columbia to Arizona, east to Florida, and south into South America. It favors marshes and wet places at lower elevations, often being found in the water.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Like Echinochloa oryzoides, E. oryzicola is an introduced weed of rice fields, where it grows in the flooded portion, with the rice. The two are quite distinct, with E. oryzicola flowering after Oryza and having a longer embryo and an erect panicle. It is also more likely to have evidently pubescent cauline nodes, leaf sheaths, and collars than E. oryzoides and is never conspicuously awned.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Echinochloa esculenta was derived from E. crus-galli in Japan, Korea, and China. It is cultivated for fodder, grain, or birdseed. It has sometimes been included in E. frumentacea, from which it differs in its brownish caryopses and longer pedicels. Hybrids between E. crus-galli and E. esculenta are fully fertile, but those with E. frumentacea are sterile.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Lower paleas more than 1/2 as long as the lemmas; panicles usually drooping
E. crus var. crus-pavonis
1. Lower paleas absent or much less than 1/2 as long as the lemmas; panicles usually stiffly erect
E. crus var. macera
Source FNA vol. 25, p. 398. FNA vol. 25, p. 402. FNA vol. 25, p. 402.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Echinochloa Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Echinochloa Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Echinochloa
Sibling taxa
E. colona, E. crus-galli, E. esculenta, E. frumentacea, E. muricata, E. oplismenoides, E. oryzicola, E. oryzoides, E. paludigena, E. polystachya, E. pyramidalis, E. walteri
E. colona, E. crus-galli, E. crus-pavonis, E. esculenta, E. frumentacea, E. muricata, E. oplismenoides, E. oryzoides, E. paludigena, E. polystachya, E. pyramidalis, E. walteri
E. colona, E. crus-galli, E. crus-pavonis, E. frumentacea, E. muricata, E. oplismenoides, E. oryzicola, E. oryzoides, E. paludigena, E. polystachya, E. pyramidalis, E. walteri
Subordinate taxa
E. crus var. crus-pavonis, E. crus var. macera
Synonyms E. crus-galli var. oryzicola
Name authority unknown (Vasinger) Vasinger (A. Braun) H. Scholtz
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