Sporobolus virginicus
Sporobolus nealleyi
marine couch, sand couch, seashore dropseed
gyp dropseed, gypgrass
10-65 cm, erect to decumbent.
10-50(60) cm tall, 0.7-1.2 mm thick.
overlapping, margins ciliate, apices with tufts of hairs, hairs to 2 mm;
ligules 0.1-0.4 mm;
blades usually conspicuously distichous, 4-16 cm long, 2-5 mm wide, flat to loosely involute, glabrous abaxially, scabridulous adaxially, margins scabridulous.
rounded below, occasionally glabrous, usually villous to tomentose along the margins and back, with soft, kinky hairs to 4 mm;
ligules 0.2-0.4 mm;
blades (0.6)1.5-6(7) cm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, involute, stiff, spreading at right angles to the culm, glabrous abaxially, scabridulous adaxially, margins smooth.
3-10 cm long, 0.4-1.6 cm wide, contracted, spikelike, dense;
primary branches 0.5-2 cm, appressed, spikelet-bearing to the base;
pedicels 0.2-1.4 mm, appressed.
3-10 cm long, (0.3)1-5(6) cm wide, longer than wide, ultimately open, subovate, lower portion often included in the uppermost sheath;
lower nodes with 1-2 branches;
primary branches 0.5-5 cm, appressed or spreading to 90° from the rachis;
secondary branches appressed or spreading, without spikelets on the lower 1/8 – 1/4;
pedicels 0.2-2 mm, appressed or spreading.
(1.8)2-3.2 mm, yellowish-white to purplish-tinged, sometimes grayish.
1.4-2.1 mm, purplish.
subequal, ovate-oblong, membranous;
lower glumes 1.5-2.4 mm;
upper glumes 1.8-3(3.2) mm;
lemmas 2.1-3 mm, ovate to lanceolate, membranous, glabrous, acute;
paleas 2.1-3 mm, ovate, membranous;
anthers 3, 1-1.7 mm, yellowish.
unequal, linear-lanceolate to ovate, membranous;
lower glumes 0.5-1.1 mm;
upper glumes 1.3-2 mm, from slightly shorter than to subequal to the florets;
lemmas 1.4-2.1 mm, ovate, membranous, glabrous, acute;
paleas 1.4-2.1 mm, ovate, membranous;
anthers 0.7-1 mm, purplish.
not known.
0.7-1 mm, orangish to whitish.
= 20, 30.
= 40.
Sporobolus virginicus
Sporobolus nealleyi
Sporobolus virginicus grows on sandy beaches, sand dunes, and in saline habitats, primarily along the south-eastern coast, occasionally inland. Its range extends through Mexico and Central America to Peru, Chile, and Brazil. No fruits of this species have been found despite examination of several natural populations and over 200 herbarium specimens.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Sporobolus nealleyi grows in sandy and gravelly soils, usually in those derived from gypsum, or near alkaline habitats associated with desert grasslands. It is known only from the southwestern United States, where it grows at 700-3000 m.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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