Sorghastrum elliottii

(C. Mohr) Nash
Common names: Slender indiangrass
Endemic
Synonyms: Sorghastrum apalachicolense
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 25. Treatment on page 631.

Plants not rhizomatous. Culms 70-190 cm tall, 1.2-2.4 mm thick; internodes glabrous. Sheaths mostly glabrous, throats pubescent; ligules 2-5 mm, decurrent, ciliate; blades 20-55 cm long, 2.5-5.5(8) mm wide, mostly glabrous. Panicles 10-35 cm, open, arching, dark purple; rachises 0.3-0.8 mm thick 1-2 mm above the lowest node; branches capillary, flexible, longest branches 19.5-34.5 cm. Spikelets 6-7.5 mm long, 1.1-1.4 mm wide, dark chestnut brown at maturity. Calluses 1-1.3 mm, blunt; lower glumes 5.5-7.3 mm, glabrous, 5-veined; upper glumes 6.2-7.5 mm; awns 25-40 mm, 5 times longer than the spikelets, twice-geniculate; anthers 2-3 mm. Caryopses 2-2.5 mm. Pedicels 3-6.5 mm, flexuous. 2n = 20.

Distribution

Md., Okla., Miss., Tex., La., Ala., Tenn., N.C., S.C., Va., Ark., Ga., Ind., Fla.

Discussion

Sorghastrum elliottii usually grows in dry, open woods on sandy terraces of the lowlands in the southeastern United States, often over a clay subsoil. Plants with straight panicles and sessile spikelets that are 1.3-1.8 mm wide are sometimes called S. apalachicolense D.W. Hall, but the variation appears to be continuous and such plants are included here as S. elliottii.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Sorghastrum elliottii"
Patricia D. Dávila Aranda +  and Stephan L. Hatch +
(C. Mohr) Nash +
Slender indiangrass +
Md. +, Okla. +, Miss. +, Tex. +, La. +, Ala. +, Tenn. +, N.C. +, S.C. +, Va. +, Ark. +, Ga. +, Ind. +  and Fla. +
Sorghastrum apalachicolense +
Sorghastrum elliottii +
Sorghastrum +
species +