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- Grass-like plants
- True grasses
- Danthonia spicata
Danthonia spicata — poverty grass, poverty oatgrass
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New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
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Facts
Both the current basal leaves and dried old basal leaves of poverty oatgrass are curly and form distinctive tufts.
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), cliffs, balds, or ledges, grassland, meadows and fields, mountain summits and plateaus, talus and rocky slopes, woodlands
Characteristics
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Leaf blade width
- 0.8–4 mm
- Inflorescence branches
- the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence
- Spikelet length
- 7–15 mm
- Glume relative length
-
- neither glume is quite as long as all of the florets
- one or both glumes are as long or longer than all of the florets
- Awn on glume
- the glume has no awn
- One or more florets
- there is more than one floret per spikelet
- Lemma awn length
- 5–8 mm
- Leaf ligule length
- 0.2–1 mm
- Anther length
- Up to 2.5 mm
-
Flowers
- Anther length
- Up to 2.5 mm
- Anther number
- 3
- Awn on glume
- the glume has no awn
- Bristles below spikelets
- no
- Floret types within spikelet
- all the florets within a spikelet are similar
- Glume awn length
- 0 mm
- Glume keel
-
- the glume keels are rough or hairy
- the glume keels are smooth and hairless
- Glume relative length
-
- neither glume is quite as long as all of the florets
- one or both glumes are as long or longer than all of the florets
- Glume shape
- the glume is V-shaped in cross-section
- Glume veins
-
- 3
- 5
- 7 or more
- Glumes per spikelet
- 2
- Inflorescence arrangement
- the spikelets are uniform
- Inflorescence axis orientation
- the inflorescence axis is straight
- Inflorescence branch roughness
- the inflorescence branches are somewhat to very rough
- Inflorescence branches
- the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence
- Inflorescence crowding
- the panicle is somewhat to very spread out, with clearly-evident branches
- Inflorescence length
- 20–50 mm
- Inflorescence length to width ratio
- 4–5
- Inflorescence type (general)
- the spikelets are borne on stalks or on branches
- Inflorescence type (specific)
- the inflorescence is branched, and the branches do NOT both grow from the same side of the plant AND look like spikes
- Inflorescence width
- 5–10 mm
- Inforescence position
- the spikelets are mainly carried at the end of the stem
- Lemma awn base
- the awn is attached right at the tip of the lemma
- Lemma awn coiled
- the lemma awn is coiled at least one half turn
- Lemma awn length
- 5–8 mm
- Lemma awn number
- the lemma has one awn on it
- Lemma awn orientation
- the awn of the lemma on dried or older plants is curved or bent outwards
- Lemma base hairs
- the lemma has hairs at the base
- Lemma cross-section
- the lemma is flat or rounded if you cut across the midpoint
- Lemma hairs
-
- the lemma has fine hairs between the veins
- the lemma is hairless between the veins
- Lemma marginal vein hairs
- the marginal vein of the lemma has fine hairs on it
- Lemma surface
- the surface of the lemma is relatively smooth (not counting any longitudinal veins or hairs)
- Lemma tip
- the lemma tip is split into two or more points
- Lemma tip shape
-
- the lemma tip tapers to a long narrow point (it may or may not also have an awn or teeth at the tip)
- the lemma tip tapers to a narrow point (it may or may not also have an awn or teeth at the tip)
- Lemma vein number
- 7 or more
- Lower glume length
- 9–15 mm
- Lower glume relative length
- the lower glume is nearly as long, or as long as, the upper glume
- One or more florets
- there is more than one floret per spikelet
- Palea length
- 2.5–3 mm
- Palea relative length
- palea is one half to fully as long as lemma
- Reproductive system
- all the flowers on the plant have both carpels and stamens (synoecious)
- Spikelet axis tip
- there is an extension of the spikelet axis beyond the tip of the spikelet
- Spikelet disintegration
-
- the spikelet breaks off above the glumes, so that after the florets fall off, the glumes remain
- the spikelet breaks off below the glumes
- Spikelet length
- 7–15 mm
- Spikelet number per node
- 0
- Spikelet pedicel
- the spikelets have pedicels
- Spikelets per panicle branch
- 1–3
- Spikelets spiny
- the spikelets do not appear spiny
- Tip of glume
- the tip of the glume is not divided (though it may have an awn on it)
- Upper glume length
- 9–15 mm
- Upper glume relative length
- the upper glume is more than one half as long as the lowest lemma
- Upper glume shape
- the upper glume is widest at or below the middle
-
Fruits or seeds
- Seed length
- 1.5–2.3 mm
-
Growth form
- Horizontal rooting stem
- no
- Lifespan
- the plant lives more than two years
- Rhizomes
- no
- Roots
- there are only slender roots on the plant
-
Leaves
- Basal leaves
- the plant has large or prominent tufts of leaves at the base of the flowering stem
- Leaf auricles
- the leaves do not have auricles
- Leaf basal lobe hairy
- NA
- Leaf blade cross-section
-
- the leaf blade is clearly folded or rolled inwards
- the leaf blade is more or less flat in cross-section, or slightly folded or rolled inwards
- Leaf blade hairs
-
- the leaf blade is hairless, but it may have tiny prickles that give it a sand-papery feel
- the leaf blade is hairy
- Leaf blade length
- 6–20 cm
- Leaf blade texture
- the leaf blade is rough and sandpapery
- Leaf blade width
- 0.8–4 mm
- Leaf ligule length
- 0.2–1 mm
- Leaf ligule type
- the leaf ligule is in the form of fine hairs
- Leaf margin glands
- there are no glands along the edges of the leaf blade
- Leaf sheath closed around stem
- the margins of the leaf sheath are overlapping and not fused together except in the basal half (or less)
- Leaf sheath hairs
-
- there are hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath
- there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath
-
Place
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Specific habitat
-
- cliffs, balds, or ledges
- grasslands
- man-made or disturbed habitats
- meadows or fields
- mountain summits and plateaus
- talus or rocky slopes
- woodlands
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Hairs at nodes
- the stem nodes are hairless or they have very sparse hairs
- Plant height
- 7–100 cm
- Stem hairs
- the stem is nearly to completely hairless
- Stem orientation
- the stems are upright
- Stem spacing
- the stems grow close together in compact clusters or tufts
- Stem thickness at base
- 0.5–1.5 mm
Wetland status
Not classified
New England distribution and conservation status
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present
- Maine
- present
- Massachusetts
- present
- New Hampshire
- present
- Rhode Island
- present
- Vermont
- present
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
- Maine
- unranked (S-rank: SNR)
- Massachusetts
- widespread (S-rank: S5)
Native to North America?
Yes
Sometimes confused with
- Danthonia compressa:
- leaf blades flat, usually not curling later in season and inflorescence 5-10 cm tall with spreading branches (vs. D. spicata, with leaf blades involute, usually curling later in season and inflorescence 2-5 cm tall with upright branches).
Synonyms
- Danthonia spicata var. longipila Scribn. & Merr.
- Danthonia spicata var. pinetorum Piper
Family
Genus
From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae
3. Danthonia spicata (L.) Beauv. ex Roemer & J.A. Schultes N
poverty oatgrass. Danthonia spicata (L.) Beauv. ex Roemer & J.A. Schultes var. longipila Scribn. & Merr.; D. spicata (L.) Beauv. ex Roemer & J.A. Schultes var. pinetorum Piper • CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT; throughout. Dry-mesic to xeric, often sandy and/or thin soils of woodlands, grasslands, open balds, roadsides, and fields.