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Madagascar dropseed, whorled dropseed

big alkali sacaton, big sacaton, giant sacaton

Habit Plants annual, or short-lived perennials flowering in the first year; cespitose, not rhizomatous. Plants perennial; cespitose, not rhizomatous.
Culms

7-35(60) cm, erect or decumbent.

90-250 cm, stout.

Sheaths

rounded below, margins and apices hairy, hairs to 3 mm;

ligules 0.3-1 mm;

blades 2-12(20) cm long, 2-6 mm wide, flat, abaxial surface glabrous, adaxial surface scabridulous, sometimes sparsely hispid, margins ciliate-pectinate.

rounded below, shiny, glabrous, rarely sparsely hairy apically, hairs to 6 mm;

ligules 1-2 mm;

blades 20-70 cm long, 3-10 mm wide, flat (rarely involute), glabrous abaxially, scabrous adaxially, margins scabrous;

flag blades ascending.

Panicles

4-15(18) cm long, 0.3-6 cm wide, open (contracted when immature), pyramidal;

lower nodes with 7-12(15) branches;

primary branches 0.5-4.5 cm, spreading 30-90° from the rachis, with elongated glands, without spikelets on the lower 1/3 – 1/2, secondary branches appressed;

pedicels 0.1-0.5 mm, appressed.

20-60 cm long, 12-26 cm wide, open, broadly lanceolate, exserted;

primary branches 1.5-10 cm, spreading 20-70° from the rachis;

secondary branches appressed, spikelet-bearing to the base;

pulvini glabrous;

pedicels 0.2-0.5 mm, mostly appressed.

Spikelets

1.2-1.8 mm, plumbeous or brownish, often secund along the branch.

1.5-2.5 mm, crowded, purplish or greenish.

Glumes

unequal, ovate to obovate, membranous;

lower glumes 0.3-0.7 mm, without midveins;

upper glumes 1.2-1.8 mm, at least 2/3 as long as the florets, often longer;

lemmas 1.2-1.7 mm, ovate to elliptic, membranous, glabrous, acute;

paleas 1.1-1.6 mm, ovate to elliptic, membranous, glabrous;

anthers 0.2-0.4 mm, yellowish or purplish.

unequal, lanceolate to ovate, membranous;

lower glumes 0.5-1 mm, often appearing veinless;

upper glumes 0.8-2 mm, 2/3 or more as long as the florets;

lemmas 1.2-2.5 mm, ovate, membranous, glabrous, acute to obtuse;

paleas 1.1-2.5 mm, ovate, membranous, glabrous;

anthers 1.1-1.3 mm, yellowish to purplish.

Fruits

0.6-1 mm, obovoid, faintly striate, light brownish.

1-1.4 mm, ellipsoid, reddish-brown or blackish, striate.

2n

= 24, 36, 54.

= 36.

Sporobolus pyramidatus

Sporobolus wrightii

Distribution
from FNA
AR; AZ; CO; FL; IL; KS; LA; MD; MO; NE; NM; NY; OK; PA; TX; UT; HI; PR; Virgin Islands
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; NM; OK; SC; TX; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Sporobolus pyramidatus is native to the Americas, extending from the southern United States to Argentina. It grows in disturbed soils, roadsides, railways, coastal sands, and alluvial slopes in many plant communities, at elevations from 0-1500 m. Morphologically, it is very similar to the Eastern Hemisphere S. coromandelianus (Retz.) Kunth, suggesting that they are closely related.

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

Sporobolus wrightii grows in moist clay flats and on rocky slopes near saline habitats, at elevations of 5-1800 m. Its range extends to central Mexico.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 119. FNA vol. 25, p. 126.
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. indicus, S. interruptus, S. jacquemontii, S. junceus, S. nealleyi, S. neglectus, S. pinetorum, S. purpurascens, 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. vaginiflorus, S. virginicus
Synonyms S. pulvinatus, S. patens, S. argutus
Name authority (Lam.) Hitchc. Munro ex Scribn.
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