Panicum amarum
Panicum ghiesbreghtii
bitter beachgrass, bitter panicgrass, bitter panicum
Ghiesbreght's panicgrass, Ghiesbreght's witchgrass
20-250 cm tall, 3-10 mm thick, erect or decumbent, simple or branched from the lower nodes;
nodes glabrous;
internodes glabrous, glaucous.
40-120 cm tall, 2-3 mm thick, decumbent to erect, branching from the base and the middle nodes;
nodes pilose, hairs spreading;
internodes hirsute, hairs papillose-based.
shorter or longer than the internodes, not keeled, glabrous;
collars often glaucous and purplish;
ligules 1-5 mm;
blades 7-50 cm long, 2-13 mm wide, erect or ascending, firm, thick, flat basally, more or less involute towards the apices.
usually shorter than the internodes, hirsute, lower sheaths more so than those above, hairs papillose-based;
collars densely pilose;
ligules 0.5-4 mm;
blades 16-55 cm long, 0.5-14 mm wide, erect to ascending, abaxial surfaces hirsute, hairs papillose-based, adaxial surfaces densely pilose, midveins prominent and whitish, bases truncate, margins ciliate basally, apices attenuate.
10-80 cm long, 2-17 cm wide, contracted, slightly nodding;
primary branches whorled or opposite, strongly ascending to appressed;
pedicels 0.5-15 mm, appressed to slightly divergent.
4-7.7 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, narrowly ovoid, glabrous, acuminate;
lower florets staminate.
2.6-3.4 mm long, 0.9-1.2 mm wide, ovoid, glabrous.
and lower lemmas relatively thick;
lower glumes 2.8-4 mm, 1/2 - 4/5 as long as the spikelets, 3-9-veined, apices of the midveins sometimes scabridulous;
upper glumes and lower lemmas extending 1.5-3 mm beyond the upper florets, apices stiffly gaping;
upper glumes 3.9-7.6 mm, 5-9-veined;
lower lemmas slightly shorter than the upper glumes, 7-9-veined, lower paleas 3-7 mm, oblong-hastate, folded over the anthers;
lower florets staminate;
upper florets 2.4-3.9 mm long, 1-1.8 mm wide, narrowly ovoid to oblong, glabrous, smooth, shiny, lemma margins clasping the paleas only at the base.
panicles 7-35 cm long, 5-23 cm wide, about 1/2 as wide as long, shortly exerted or partially included, lax, open;
axillary panicles smaller, included basally;
primary branches diverging, lower branches solitary, upper branches solitary to subverticillate;
secondary branching primarily in the distal 1/3;
pedicels 1-4 mm, clavate, spreading to appressed.
glumes 1.4-1.7 mm, to 1/2 as long as the spikelets, acute, 5-7-veined;
upper glumes and lower lemmas similar, exceeding the upper florets by 0.7-0.9 mm, 9-13-veined;
lower florets sterile;
lower paleas 0.5-1.3 mm;
upper lorets 1.7-2.3 mm long, 0.8-1.1 mm wide, smooth, ovoid.
= 36, 54.
= unknown.
Panicum amarum
Panicum ghiesbreghtii
Panicum amarum grows in the coastal dunes, wet sandy soils, and the margins of swamps, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico from Connecticut to northeastern Mexico. It is also known, as an introduction, from a few inland locations in New Mexico, North Carolina, and West Virginia, as well as in the Bahamas and Cuba.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Panicum ghiesbreghtii grows in low, moist ground, wet thickets, and savannahs, from southern Texas through Mexico, Central America, Cuba, and the West Indies to northern South America.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Rhizomes short or ascending; culms often bunched and decumbent, usually more than 120 cm tall; lower glumes with 3-5 less evident veins, the midvein smooth distally; spikelet density high; panicles with 2 or more main branches per node; spikelets 4-5.9 mm long | subsp. amarulum |
1. Rhizomes horizontally elongate; culms mostly solitary, less than 150 cm tall; lower glumes with 7-9 prominent veins, the midvein scabridulous distally; spikelet density moderate; panicles with 1 or 2 main branches per node; spikelets 4.7-7.7 mm long | subsp. amarum |
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