The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

rattail smutgrass, smut grass

Florida dropseed

Habit Plants perennial; cespitose, with tough fibrous roots, not rhizomatous. Plants perennial; cespitose, not rhizomatous.
Culms

30-100 (120) cm.

(40)100-200(250) 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 5 mm;

ligules 0.2-0.7 mm;

blades (10)25-50 cm long, (2)3-10 mm wide, flat to folded, pale bluish-green, yellowing at maturity, glabrous on both surfaces or the adaxial surface sparsely hairy basally, 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.

(18)30-50 cm long, 4-15 cm wide, open (contracted when immature), longer than wide, not diffuse, pyramidal to ovate;

lower nodes with 1-2(3) branches;

primary branches 4-15 cm, spreading 10-90° from the rachis, not capillary, without spikelets on the lower 1/3;

secondary branches spreading;

pulvini hairy or glabrous;

pedicels 2-14 mm, longer than the spikelets, spreading, glabrous, sometimes scabridulous.

Spikelets

2-2.6(2.7) mm, plumbeous to light brownish.

(3.7)4-6 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.

linear-lanceolate, membranous;

lower glumes 2.5-5.1 mm, (0.6)0.75-0.9(0.94) times as long as the upper glumes;

upper glumes 3.7-5.7 mm, longer than the florets;

lemmas 3-4 mm, ovate to lanceolate, membranous, glabrous, acute;

paleas 3-4 mm, ovate, membranous, glabrous;

anthers 2-3.1 mm, purplish.

Fruits

1-1.2 mm, quadrangular, laterally compressed, reddish-brown, truncate.

1.7-2 mm, fusiform, reddish-brown.

2n

= 18, 24, 36.

= unknown.

Sporobolus indicus

Sporobolus floridanus

Distribution
from FNA
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
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; SC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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 floridanus grows in wet to mesic pine woodlands, seepage bogs, and treeless swales, in soils semi-permanently to seasonally saturated at the surface, and in places where water may pond for weeks, at elevations of 0-100 m. It is endemic to the southeastern United States.

(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
S. airoides, S. buckleyi, S. clandestinus, S. coahuilensis, S. compositus, S. contractus, S. creber, S. cryptandrus, S. curtissii, S. diandrus, S. domingensis, S. fimbriatus, S. flexuosus, S. floridanus, S. giganteus, S. heterolepis, S. interruptus, S. jacquemontii, S. junceus, S. nealleyi, S. neglectus, S. pinetorum, S. purpurascens, S. pyramidatus, S. silveanus, S. tenuissimus, S. teretifolius, S. texanus, S. vaginiflorus, S. virginicus, S. wrightii
S. airoides, S. buckleyi, S. clandestinus, S. coahuilensis, S. compositus, S. contractus, S. creber, S. cryptandrus, S. curtissii, S. diandrus, S. domingensis, S. fimbriatus, S. flexuosus, S. giganteus, S. heterolepis, S. indicus, S. interruptus, S. jacquemontii, S. junceus, S. nealleyi, S. neglectus, S. pinetorum, S. purpurascens, S. pyramidatus, S. silveanus, S. tenuissimus, S. teretifolius, S. texanus, S. vaginiflorus, S. virginicus, S. wrightii
Synonyms S. poiretii
Name authority (L.) R. Br. Chapm.
Web links