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Pringle needlegrass, Pringle speargrass, Pringle's spear grass

pinon ricegrass, pinyon ricegrass

Culms

50-125 cm, mostly glabrous, pubescent below the nodes;

nodes 2-3, dark, 1 glabrous or slightly pubescent.

35-95 cm, usually glabrous, sometimes pubescent below the nodes;

nodes 2-3, often dark, glabrous.

Sheaths

smooth to scabridulous;

ligules of basal leaves 0.5-2.8 mm, truncate to rounded, of upper leaves 1-3.5 mm, rounded to acute;

blades 10-30 cm long, 1-3.5 mm wide, 3-5-veined, abaxial surfaces glabrous, smooth, adaxial surfaces smooth or scabrous over the veins, margins smooth or scabrous.

glabrous, smooth;

ligules truncate to rounded, of basal leaves 0.4-1.8 mm, of upper leaves 1.5-2 mm;

blades 6-26 cm long, usually involute and 0.3-5 mm in diameter, sometimes flat and 0.5-1(1.5) mm wide, 3-veined, both surfaces glabrous, veins often scabridulous, margins scabrous.

Panicles

6-20 cm, open, with 10-25 spikelets;

branches ascending, flexuous;

pedicels to 1 mm, flattened, hispid.

6.5-25 cm, open, often partially enclosed in the upper leaf sheath, with 20-60 spikelets;

branches flexuous;

pedicels 4-12 mm, flattened, hispid.

Glumes

subequal, 9-12 mm long, 2.5-3.5 mm wide;

lower glumes 5-7-veined;

upper glumes 7-veined;

florets 6.5-10 mm long, 1.5-2.1 mm thick, terete to somewhat laterally compressed;

calluses 0.6-1.9 mm, blunt to acute, strigose;

lemmas golden brown to dark brown at maturity, shiny or not, smooth to spiny-tuberculate distally or for almost their entire length, pubescent, hairs tawny to golden brown, evenly distributed or somewhat more abundant on the basal 1/2, apices tapering to the crown;

crowns 0.5-0.6 mm, inconspicuous, straight, hairy, hairs 0.5-1 mm;

awns 19-27(35) mm, persistent, twice-geniculate, sometimes inconspicuously so;

paleas 6.3-9.5 mm;

lodicules 2, 1-1.5 mm, acute;

anthers 3.5-5.5 mm, sometimes penicillate.

subequal, 4-6.2 mm long, 1.8-3.1 mm wide, 5-7-veined, often partly purplish;

florets 3-5.5 mm long, 0.6-1.9 mm thick, somewhat laterally compressed, rectangular to slightly obovate in side view;

calluses 0.2-0.7 mm, blunt, strigose;

lemmas tan to light chocolate brown, shiny, smooth, evenly pubescent when immature, hairs easily rubbed off;

crowns about 0.8 mm wide, inconspicuous, glabrous or glabrate;

awns 11-20 mm, persistent, twice-geniculate;

paleas about 3.5 mm;

lodicules 2, about 1 mm;

anthers 0.3-0.5 mm, not penicillate.

Caryopses

about 7 mm, fusiform.

2.5-3 mm long, about 0.6 mm thick, fusiform.

2n

= 42.

= 42.

Piptochaetium pringlei

Piptochaetium fimbriatum

Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM; TX
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; NM; TX
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Piptochaetium pringlei grows in oak woodlands, often on rocky soils, in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. It is often confused with P. fimbriatum; it differs from that species in having longer florets and sharper calluses.

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

Piptochaetium fimbriatum is an attractive species that grows in oak and pinyon woods of the southwestern United States and adjacent Mexico, and merits consideration as an ornamental. It has also been reported from Guatemala; the report has not been verified.

Piptochaetium fimbriatum is not easily confused with other species in our range. Hitchcock (1951) treated it as including P. seleri (Pilg.) Henrard, a Mexican species with dull, rough, oblanceolate lemmas and persistent lemma hairs, an interpretation that is no longer accepted. It is occasionally confused with P. pringlei; it differs from that species in having shorter florets and blunt calluses.

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

Source FNA vol. 24, p. 162. FNA vol. 24.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Stipeae > Piptochaetium Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Stipeae > Piptochaetium
Sibling taxa
P. avenaceum, P. avenacioides, P. fimbriatum, P. setosum, P. stipoides
P. avenaceum, P. avenacioides, P. pringlei, P. setosum, P. stipoides
Synonyms Stipa pringlei
Name authority (Beal) Parodi (Kunth) Hitchc.
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