Sporobolus indicus |
Sporobolus silveanus |
|
---|---|---|
rattail smutgrass, smut grass |
Silveus' dropseed |
|
Habit | Plants perennial; cespitose, with tough fibrous roots, not rhizomatous. | Plants perennial; cespitose, not rhizomatous. |
Culms | 30-100 (120) cm. |
70-120 cm. |
Sheaths | usually keeled below, glabrous; ligules 0.2-0.5 mm; blades (6)10-30(50) cm long, 1-5 mm wide, flat, glabrous on both surfaces. |
shiny and indurate basally, glabrous or appressed hairy elsewhere, hairs to 4 mm; ligules 0.2-0.8 mm; blades 15-52 cm long, 1-2.5 mm wide, flat, folded or involute, bluish-green, remaining so well into winter, glabrous on both surfaces, margins scabridulous. |
Panicles | 20-35(50) cm long, 0.3-2.2(3) cm wide, contracted, narrow, sometimes included in the uppermost sheath; primary branches 0.4-2.5(5) cm, appressed or spreading to 40° from the rachis, as long or longer than the adjacent internodes; secondary branches appressed, spikelet-bearing to near the base; pulvini glabrous; pedicels 0.1-1.8 mm, appressed. |
21-50 cm long, 5-12(15) cm wide, longer than wide, open, not diffuse, pyramidal to ovate, with few spikelets; lower nodes with 1-2(3) branches; primary branches 6-20 cm, ascending, spreading 20-50° from the rachis, not capillary, without spikelets on the lower 1/4–1/2; secondary branches appressed to loosely spreading; pulvini glabrous; pedicels 3-8(14) mm, longer or shorter than the spikelets, appressed, glabrous, scabrous. |
Spikelets | 2-2.6(2.7) mm, plumbeous to light brownish. |
4.5-7(7.2) mm, purplish. |
Glumes | subequal, ovate or obovate, membranous; lower glumes 0.5-1 mm, often without midveins; upper glumes 0.8-1.6 mm, 1/2 - 2/3 as long as the florets, acute to obtuse, entire; lemmas 1.8-2.6(2.7) mm, ovate, membranous, glabrous, acute or obtuse; paleas 1.9-2.4 mm, ovate, membranous, glabrous; anthers 3, 0.5-1.1 mm, white, sometimes purple-tinged. |
subequal to unequal, linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, membranous; lower glumes 3-4.6 mm, 0.6-0.9 times as long as the upper glumes; upper glumes 4-7.2 mm, from slightly shorter to longer than the spikelets; lemmas 4.4-6.5 mm, lanceolate, membranous, glabrous, acuminate to acute; paleas 4.5-6.7 mm, lanceolate, membranous, glabrous; anthers 3, 3.5-5 mm, purplish. |
Fruits | 1-1.2 mm, quadrangular, laterally compressed, reddish-brown, truncate. |
1.8-2.2 mm, obovoid, laterally flattened, light brownish. |
2n | = 18, 24, 36. |
= unknown. |
Sporobolus indicus |
Sporobolus silveanus |
|
Distribution |
AL; AR; CA; FL; GA; IL; KY; LA; MD; MI; MO; MS; NC; NJ; NY; OK; OR; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; HI; PR; Virgin Islands
|
FL; GA; LA; OK; TX |
Discussion | Sporobolus indicus is a pantropical species. It commonly grows in disturbed places and open areas such as roadsides, pastures, and lake shores. In the Flora region, it is found on sandy or clay soils and is associated with many plant communities. The spikelets and upper leaves are often covered with hyphomycetous fungi (Bipolaris spp.); hence the common name of "smutgrass". (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Sporobolus silveanus is restricted to the southeastern United States. It grows in wet to mesic pine woodlands and adjoining glades and barren openings, and in black-land prairies, at elevations of 5-200 m. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 25, p. 122. | FNA vol. 25, p. 137. |
Parent taxa | Poaceae > subfam. Chloridoideae > tribe Cynodonteae > Sporobolus | Poaceae > subfam. Chloridoideae > tribe Cynodonteae > Sporobolus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. poiretii | |
Name authority | (L.) R. Br. | Swallen |
Web links |
|