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bamboo grass, basketgrass, bristle basketgrass

Habit Plants perennial.
Culms

to 90 cm, mostly decumbent and rooting at the nodes, distal 15-35 cm ascending when flowering;

nodes usually pubescent;

internodes usually pubescent along 1 side (sometimes glabrous).

Sheaths

conspicuously ciliate on the margins;

ligules 0.4-1.6(2.3) mm, ciliate;

blades (0.6)1.3-11.5 cm long, 2-20 mm wide, glabrous, scabrous, or pubescent, margin(s) usually undu-lating.

Panicles

(1.5)2.5-16.5 cm, with 2-10 primary branches;

branches 0.1-2.5 cm.

Spikelets

2.2-3.5(4.5) mm;

calluses shortly pubescent at the base awns usually purplish.

Caryopses

1.7-1.8 mm long, 0.5-0.9 mm wide, glabrous.

Lower

glumes 1.5-3 mm, scabridulous and/or pubescent, 3-5-veined, awns (1.6)3.2-14.5 mm;

upper glumes 1.5-2.5 mm, sparsely pubescent, 5-7-veined, awns 0.8-6(10) mm;

lower florets usually sterile, occasionally staminate;

lower lemmas 2.2-3.1 mm, sparsely pubescent above, (5)7-9-veined, awns 0.1-1.2 mm;

lower paleas absent or to 2.3 mm, hyaline;

upper lemmas (2.1)2.3-3 mm, glabrous, weakly cartilaginous, white to cream-colored;

anthers 3, 1.3-1.7 mm.

2n

= 36, (54), 72, (90).

Oplismenus hirtellus

Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; OK; SC; TX; VA; HI; PR; Virgin Islands
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Discussion

Oplismenus hirtellus grows at scattered locations in the southeastern United States, extending south in subtropical and tropical habitats to Argentina. Scholz (1981) recognized 11 subspecies and two forms within the species, but they overlap, both morphologically and geographically. The key below is included for convenience. It includes the three subspecies attributed to the Flora region. In addition, a variegated form culti

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

Key
1. Sheaths and culms noticeably pilose, the hairs 1-3 mm long; lemmas 7-veined
subsp. undulatifolius
1. Sheaths and culms glabrous or with a few, scattered hairs less than 1 mm long; lemmas (7)9-11-veined.
→ 2
2. Spikelets 2.2-2.7(3.3) mm long; lowest panicle branches 0.1-0.5 cm long
subsp. setarius
2. Spikelets 3-3.4(4.5) mm long; lowest panicle branches 0.5-0.7 cm long
subsp. fasciculatus
Source FNA vol. 25, p. 390.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Oplismenus
Subordinate taxa
O. hirtellus subsp. fasciculatus, O. hirtellus subsp. setarius, O. hirtellus subsp. undulatifolius
Synonyms O. hirtellus subsp. setarius, O. hirtellus subsp. fasciculatus
Name authority (L.) P. Beauv.
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