Sphenopholis obtusata
Sphenopholis filiformis
prairie wedge grass, prairie wedgescale, sphenopholis obtus
longleaf wedgescale, southern wedgegrass
(9)20-130 cm.
20-100 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.
smooth, usually glabrous, sometimes pubescent;
ligules 0.4-0.75 mm, erose-ciliate;
blades 2-45 cm long, 0.3-1.5(2) mm wide, involute to filiform.
(2)5-15(25) cm long, 0.5-2 cm wide, usually erect, often spikelike, spikelets usually densely arranged.
5-15 cm long, 0.5-1(2) cm wide, sometimes nodding, spikelets loosely to densely arranged.
2.2-3.6 mm.
2.3-5 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.
less than 1/3 as wide as the upper glumes, rarely slightly wider;
upper glumes 1.8-2.9 mm, obovate to oblanceolate, width/length ratio 0.16-0.45, apices rounded to truncate;
lowest lemmas 2-3 mm, scabridulous distally;
distal lemmas scabrous on the sides, unawned or infrequently awned, awns (0.1)1-3 mm;
anthers (0.5)1-1.9 mm.
= 14.
= 14.
Sphenopholis obtusata
Sphenopholis filiformis
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.)
Sphenopholis filiformis grows in sandy soils of pine and mixed pine forests, at 0-500 m, in the southeastern United States. It is found primarily in the coastal plain, but extends to the piedmont. Smith (1991) reported it for northern Arkansas (Nielsen 4946, identification not verified). Sphenopholis filiformis differs from occasional forms of S. obtusata with somewhat scabrous distal lemmas in having narrower leaves.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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