Sphenopholis obtusata
prairie wedge grass, prairie wedgescale, sphenopholis obtus
(9)20-130 cm.
glabrous or hairy, sometimes scabridulous;
ligules (1)1.5-2.5 mm, erose-ciliate, more or less lacerate;
blades 5-14 cm long, (1)2-8 mm wide, usually flat, rarely slightly involute, scabrous or pubescent.
(2)5-15(25) cm long, 0.5-2 cm wide, usually erect, often spikelike, spikelets usually densely arranged.
2.2-3.6 mm.
less than 1/3 as wide as the upper glumes;
upper glumes 1.5-2.5 mm, subcucullate, width/length ratio 0.3-0.5, apices rounded to truncate;
lowest lemmas 1.9-2.8 mm, usually scabridulous distally;
distal lemmas usually smooth on the sides, occasionally scabrous, unawned;
anthers 0.2-1 mm.
= 14.
Sphenopholis obtusata
Sphenopholis obtusata grows in prairies, marshes, dunes, forests, and waste places, at 0-2500 m. Its range extends from British Columbia to New Brunswick, through most of the United States, to southern Mexico and the Caribbean. The distal lemmas of S. obtusata are occasionally somewhat scabrous. Such plants can be distinguished from S. nitida (p. 621) by their narrower lower glumes, from S. filiformis (p. 621) by their wider leaves, and from S. pensylvanica (p. 621) by their shorter, unawned spikelets. Hybrids with S. pensylvanica, called Sphenopholis xpallens, have short (0.1-4 mm) awns on the distal lemmas.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
KS Wildflowers, 
LA Plants, 
MD Biodiversity, 
MI Flora, 
MN Wildflowers, 
MO Plants, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
