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• Beckmannia syzigachne

Beckmannia syzigachne — American slough grass

Facts

American slough grass is a wetland annual grass native to Asia, and to the western and northern United States, but not to New England. It has been collected in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The specific name (syzigachne) is derived from Greek and means "jointed achene".

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), marshes, meadows and fields, shores of rivers or lakes, swamps, wetland margins (edges of wetlands)

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Anther length

  0.5–1.5 mm

  Anther number

  3

  Awn on glume

  the glume has no awn

  Bristles below spikelets

  no

  Floret lower bract texture

  the lemma is thin and flexible

  Floret number

  1–2

  Floret types within spikelet

  all the florets within a spikelet are similar

  Glume awn length

  0 mm

  Glume relative length

  neither glume is quite as long as all of the florets

  Glume shape

  the glume is V-shaped in cross-section

  Glume veins

  3

  Glumes per spikelet

  2

  Inflorescence arrangement

  the spikelets are uniform

  Inflorescence axis orientation

  the inflorescence axis is straight

  Inflorescence branch length

  1–2 cm

  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 congested (crowded), and the branches may not be clearly seen without close inspection

  Inflorescence length

  70–300 mm

  Inflorescence type (general)

  the spikelets are borne on stalks or on branches

  Inflorescence type (specific)

  the inflorescence is branched and the branches all grow from the same side of the plant and look like spikes

  Inforescence position

  the spikelets are mainly carried at the end of the stem

  Lemma awn base

  NA

  Lemma awn coiled

  NA

  Lemma awn length

  0 mm

  Lemma awn number

  the lemma has no awn

  Lemma awn orientation

  NA

  Lemma base hair length

  0 mm

  Lemma base hairs

  the lemma is hairless or feels just a tiny bit rough at the base

  Lemma cross-section

  the lemma is flat or rounded if you cut across the midpoint

  Lemma hairs

  the lemma is hairless between the veins

  Lemma keel hairs

  NA

  Lemma surface

  the surface of the lemma is relatively smooth (not counting any longitudinal veins or hairs)

  Lemma tip

  the lemma tip is a simple point, with or without an awn (long narrow extension ending in a point)

  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)

  Lemma vein number

  5

  Lower glume length

  3–3.5 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
  • there is one floret per spikelet

  Palea length

  2.4–3.5 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 no extension of the spikelet axis beyond the tip of the spikelet

  Spikelet disintegration

  the spikelet breaks off below the glumes

  Spikelet length

  2–3 mm

  Spikelet number per node

  0

  Spikelet pedicel

  • the spikelets do not have pedicels
  • the spikelets have pedicels

  Spikelet pedicel length

  At least 0 mm

  Spikelet position

  the spikelets emerge from both the upper and lower halves of the inflorescence branches

  Spikelet shape

  • the spikelets are orbicular (circular) in profile
  • the spikelets are ovate (egg-shaped, widest below the middle with rounded ends) in profile

  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

  3–3.5 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 above the middle

• Fruits or seeds

  Seed length

  Up to 2 mm

• Growth form

  Horizontal rooting stem

  no

  Lifespan

  the plant lives only a single year or less

  Rhizomes

  no

  Roots

  there are only slender roots on the plant

• Leaves

  Basal leaves

  the plant has few or no leaves coming from the base of the flowering stem

  Leaf auricles

  the leaves do not have auricles

  Leaf basal lobe hairy

  NA

  Leaf blade base

  the leaf is tapered gradually to the base

  Leaf blade cross-section

  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

  Leaf blade length

  10–25 cm

  Leaf blade texture

  the leaf blade is rough and sandpapery

  Leaf blade width

  4–20 mm

  Leaf ligule length

  5–11 mm

  Leaf ligule type

  the leaf ligule is in the form of a membrane

  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 hair type

  there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath

  Leaf sheath hairs

  there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath

  Orientation of topmost leaf

  the flag leaf is held upright, or at less than a 45 degree angle out from the stem

• Place

  Habitat

  wetlands

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • edges of wetlands
  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • marshes
  • meadows or fields
  • shores of rivers or lakes
  • swamps

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Plant height

  20–120 cm

  Roots at lower stem nodes

  no

  Stem node number

  2–4

  Stem orientation

  the stems are upright

  Stem spacing

  the stems grow close together in compact clusters or tufts

Wetland status

Occurs only in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: OBL)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae