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narrow plumegrass

compressed plumegrass

Habit Plants cespitose, rarely stoloniferous. Plants cespitose, not or shortly rhizomatous.
Culms

0.9-1.8 m;

nodes glabrous or with hairs to 0.5 mm.

1-2.5 m;

nodes with 1-3 mm hairs.

Sheaths

glabrous;

ligules 1-3 mm, with lateral lobes;

blades 18-60 cm long, 5-12 mm wide, glabrous.

glabrous;

auricles 0.3-3 mm;

ligules 1-2 mm;

blades 15-40 cm long, 7-12 mm wide.

Peduncles

30-40 cm, glabrous;

panicles 1-2.5 cm wide, linear;

lowest nodes glabrous or sparsely pilose;

rachises 10-35 cm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent;

primary branches 6-18 cm, appressed;

rame internodes 3-5 mm, glabrous.

35-45 cm, glabrous;

panicles 3-7 cm wide, linear to oblong;

rachises 13-35 cm, glabrous or sparsely pilose;

primary branches 5-12 cm, appressed;

rame internodes 3-6 mm, with hairs.

Pedicels

3-5 mm, glabrous.

3-5 mm, sparsely and shortly pilose.

Sessile

spikelets 7-10 mm long, 1.1-1.5 mm wide, brown.

spikelets 6-8 mm long, 0.9-1.2 mm wide, brown.

Callus

hairs absent or to 2 mm, shorter than the spikelets, straw-colored;

lower glumes scabrous, 5-veined;

lower lemmas 6-8 mm, 2-veined;

upper lemmas 0.9-1 times as long as the lower lemmas, 3-veined, entire;

awns 17-24 mm, terete, straight or curved at the base;

lodicule veins extending into hairlike projections;

anthers 2.

hairs 3-5 mm, from shorter than to equaling the spikelets, white or straw-colored;

lower glumes smooth or scabrous, 5-veined;

lower lemmas 5.8-7.5 mm, usually 3-veined;

upper lemmas 4-5.5 mm, 0.7-0.8 times as long as the lower lemmas, 3-veined, entire;

awns 16-26 mm, terete and straight to curving basally;

lodicule veins extending into hairlike projections to 0.6 mm long;

anthers 2.

Pedicellate

spikelets similar to the sessile spikelets.

spikelets similar to the sessile spikelets.

2n

= 30.

= 60.

Saccharum baldwinii

Saccharum coarctatum

Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; FL; GA; IL; KY; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; OK; SC; TN; TX; VA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; DE; FL; GA; MD; NC; SC; TX; VA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Saccharum baldwinii commonly grows in sandy, shaded river and stream bottoms. It occurs throughout the southeastern United States, but it is not as common as other members of the genus, and is rare or completely absent from higher elevations of the Appalachian Mountains.

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

Saccharum coarctatum is common in wet, peaty or sandy soils of swales, pond margins, and meadows of the coastal plain of the southeastern United States. It is unusual in having lodicule veins that extend into hairlike projections up to 0.6 mm long.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 614. FNA vol. 25, p. 612.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Andropogoneae > Saccharum Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Andropogoneae > Saccharum
Sibling taxa
S. alopecuroides, S. bengalense, S. brevibarbe, S. coarctatum, S. giganteum, S. officinarum, S. ravennae, S. spontaneum
S. alopecuroides, S. baldwinii, S. bengalense, S. brevibarbe, S. giganteum, S. officinarum, S. ravennae, S. spontaneum
Synonyms Erianthus strictus Erianthus coarctatus
Name authority Spreng. (Fernald) R.D. Webster
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