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ditch beard grass, ditch rabbit's-foot grass

Asia minor bluegrass, Asian beardgrass

Habit Plants perennial, often flowering the first year. Plants annual.
Culms

20-80 (90) cm, more or less decumbent.

(8.5) 15-60 cm, often decumbent at the base and rooting at the nodes.

Sheaths

smooth;

ligules 2-6 mm, scabridulous-pubescent;

blades 5-9 cm long, 3-6 mm wide.

smooth;

ligules 2-8 mm;

blades 2-16 cm long, 2-11 mm wide, scabrous.

Panicles

3-15 cm long, 0.5-3 cm wide, usually interrupted or lobed;

pedicels not developed;

stipes 0.2-0.7 mm.

3-15 cm long, 0.5-5 cm wide, narrowly ovoid, oblong, or cylindrical, dense, usually lobed, pale green or yellowish;

pedicels absent or to 0.5 mm;

stipes 0.2-1.3 mm.

Glumes

2-3 mm, subequal, scabrous, larger prickles extending up the keel beyond midlength, not tapering to the apices, apices acute to truncate, unlobed or the lobes to 0.1 mm, awned, awns 1.5-3.2 mm, those of the lower and upper glumes subequal;

lemmas 0.8-1.5 mm, glabrous, smooth and shiny, apices obtuse, not emarginate, awned, awns 1-3.2 mm;

paleas about 3/4 as long as the lemmas;

anthers 0.5-0.7 mm.

1.8-2.4 mm, equal to subequal, scabridulous to echinate, not tapering to the apices, apices acute to rounded, lobed, lobes 0.1-0.2 mm, awned from the sinuses, awns 0.6-3 mm, those of the lower and upper glumes subequal to equal, flexuous;

lemmas 0.9-1.2 mm, smooth, unawned or awned, awns to 2 mm, flexuous;

paleas 0.7-1.2 mm, from 3/4 as long as to equaling the lemmas;

anthers 0.3-0.6 mm.

2n

= 28, 42.

= 42.

Polypogon interruptus

Polypogon fugax

Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; LA; NE; NM; NV; NY; OK; OR; TX; UT; WA; WI; WY; HI
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
HI
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Polypogon interruptus grows in moist soil at lower elevations. It is native to the Western Hemisphere, extending south from the western United States into northern Mexico, and through the American tropics to Argentina and Bolivia. The more eastern records may indicate introductions; it is not known whether or not the species persists at these locations.

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

Polypogon fugax is native from Iraq to Myanmar [Burma]. It was collected in Santa Barbara, California, and from salt marshes around Oakland, California, in the nineteenth century, and from Portland, Oregon, in the early twentieth century. There are no recent collections from the Flora region.

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

Source FNA vol. 24, p. 663. FNA vol. 24, p. 663.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Polypogon Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Polypogon
Sibling taxa
P. australis, P. elongatus, P. fugax, P. imberbis, P. maritimus, P. monspeliensis, P. viridis
P. australis, P. elongatus, P. imberbis, P. interruptus, P. maritimus, P. monspeliensis, P. viridis
Name authority Kunth Nees ex Steud.
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