Sporobolus indicus |
Sporobolus teretifolius |
|
---|---|---|
rattail smutgrass, smut grass |
wireleaf dropseed |
|
Habit | Plants perennial; cespitose, with tough fibrous roots, not rhizomatous. | Plants perennial; cespitose, not rhizomatous. |
Culms | 30-100 (120) cm. |
(20)35-80(100) cm, wiry. |
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 0.2-0.4 mm; blades (10)25-54 cm long, 0.5-1.2 mm wide, terete or subterete at least basally, sometimes channeled for portions of their length, green to yellowish-green, senescing or turning tan in late fall, glabrous on both surfaces or the adaxial surface sparsely hairy basally, margins smooth. |
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. |
10-26 cm long, 1-9 cm wide, open (contracted when immature), not diffuse, narrowly pyramidal to ovate; lower nodes with 1-2(3) branches; primary branches 1-8 cm, ascending or spreading to 40° from the rachis, not capillary, without spikelets on the lower 1/3; secondary branches spreading; pulvini hairy; pedicels 3-18 mm, longer than the spikelets, spreading, with scattered ascending hairs. |
Spikelets | 2-2.6(2.7) mm, plumbeous to light brownish. |
4-5.6 mm, purplish-brown. |
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. |
unequal, linear-lanceolate, membranous; lower glumes 2-3.8 mm, 0.5-0.8 times as long as the upper glumes; upper glumes 4-5.6 mm, usually longer than the florets; lemmas 3.4-4.4 mm, ovate, membranous, glabrous, acute; paleas 3.3-4.4 mm, ovate, membranous, glabrous; anthers 1.5-2.6 mm, purplish. |
Fruits | 1-1.2 mm, quadrangular, laterally compressed, reddish-brown, truncate. |
not seen. |
2n | = 18, 24, 36. |
= unknown. |
Sporobolus indicus |
Sporobolus teretifolius |
|
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
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AL; FL; GA; NC; SC |
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 teretifolius is restricted to the southeastern United States, where it grows in wet to moist flatwoods and savannahs, at elevations of 10-150 m. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 25, p. 122. | FNA vol. 25, p. 135. |
Parent taxa | Poaceae > subfam. Chloridoideae > tribe Cynodonteae > Sporobolus | Poaceae > subfam. Chloridoideae > tribe Cynodonteae > Sporobolus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. poiretii | |
Name authority | (L.) R. Br. | R.M. Harper |
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