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rattail smutgrass, smut grass

poverty dropseed, poverty grass, sheath dropseed, sporobole engaine

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

30-100 (120) cm.

15-60(70) cm, erect to decumbent, 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.

often inflated, sometimes with sparse hairs basally, hairs papillose-based, glabrous or the apices with small tufts of hairs, hairs to 3 mm;

ligules 0.1-0.3 mm;

blades 2-12(25) cm long, 0.6-2 mm wide, flat to loosely involute, glabrous abaxially, scabridulous adaxially, bases of both surfaces sometimes with a few papillose-based hairs, margins smooth or 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.

terminal and axillary, 1-5 cm long, 0.2-0.5 cm wide, contracted, cylindrical, enclosed in the uppermost sheath;

lower nodes with 1-2(3) branches;

primary branches 0.4-1.8 cm, appressed, spikelet-bearing to the base;

secondary branches appressed;

pedicels 0.2-4 mm, appressed, scabridulous.

Spikelets

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

2.3-6 mm, yellowish to purplish- or grayish-mottled.

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, linear-lanceolate to lanceolate-triangular or ovate, membranous to chartaceous, glabrous;

lower glumes (2.2)2.8-4.7 mm;

upper glumes (2.4)3-5 mm;

lemmas (2.1)3-5.4 mm, lanceolate to lanceolate-triangular, 1-3-veined, chartaceous, often mottled with purplish or grayish areas, strigose, hairs less than 0.5 mm, apices acuminate or acute;

paleas (2.1)3-6 mm, as long as or longer than the lemmas, sometimes tapering into a beak, lanceolate to lanceolate-triangular, chartaceous, strigose;

anthers 3, 1.2-3.2 mm, yellowish or purplish.

Fruits

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

(1.1)1.8-2.7 mm, obovoid, laterally flattened, light brownish, translucent.

2n

= 18, 24, 36.

= 54.

Sporobolus indicus

Sporobolus vaginiflorus

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; AR; AZ; CA; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; BC; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC
[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 vaginiflorus is a North American species, native to the eastern portion of the Flora region and probably introduced in the west. It grows in disturbed sites within many plant communities, commonly in sandy to sandy-clay soils, these often derived from calcareous parent materials. Its elevational range is 1-1250 m.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Sheath bases sparsely hairy; glumes usually longer than the florets; lemmas always faintly 3-veined
var. ozarkanus
1. Sheath bases usually glabrous; glumes usually shorter than the florets; lemmas usually 1-veined
var. vaginiflorus
Source FNA vol. 25, p. 122. FNA vol. 25, p. 119.
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. floridanus, 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. virginicus, S. wrightii
Subordinate taxa
S. vaginiflorus var. ozarkanus, S. vaginiflorus var. vaginiflorus
Synonyms S. poiretii
Name authority (L.) R. Br. (Torr. ex A. Gray) Alph. Wood
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