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Dichanthelium scoparium — velvety rosette-panicgrass

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Facts

Velvety rosette-panicgrass is native to southern and eastern North America, reaching the northeastern limit of its range in New England, where it is rare and restricted to Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It can be found on the coastal plain on pond shores, wetland edges and clearings.

Habitat

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

New England distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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North America distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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Characteristics

Habitat
  • terrestrial
  • wetlands
New England state
  • Massachusetts
  • Rhode Island
Leaf blade width
9–20 mm
Inflorescence branches
the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence
Spikelet length
2.2–2.8 mm
Glume relative length
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
  • there is one floret per spikelet
Lemma awn length
0 mm
Leaf sheath hair type
there are hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath, and some of the hairs have blisters at their bases
Leaf ligule length
0.5–2 mm
Show all characteristics

  • Flowers

    Anther number
    0–3
    Awn on glume
    the glume has no awn
    Bristles below spikelets
    no
    Floret lower bract texture
    the lemma is hard and firm
    Floret number
    1–2
    Floret types within spikelet
    • NA
    • there are at least two distinct forms of florets within one spikelet
    Glume relative length
    one or both glumes are as long or longer than all of the florets
    Glume shape
    the glume is flat or curved in cross-section
    Glume veins
    • 1
    • 3
    • 5
    • 7 or more
    Inflorescence arrangement
    the spikelets are uniform
    Inflorescence axis orientation
    the inflorescence axis is straight
    Inflorescence branches
    the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence
    Inflorescence length
    60–160 mm
    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
    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 cross-section
    the lemma is flat or rounded if you cut across the midpoint
    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 vein number
    • 3
    • 5
    • 7 or more
    One or more florets
    • there is more than one floret per spikelet
    • there is one floret per spikelet
    Palea relative length
    palea is one half to fully as long as lemma
    Spikelet axis tip
    there is no extension of the spikelet axis beyond the tip of the spikelet
    Spikelet length
    2.2–2.8 mm
    Spikelets spiny
    the spikelets do not appear spiny
    Upper glume shape
    the upper glume is widest at or below the middle

  • Growth form

    Lifespan
    the plant lives more than two years

  • 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 blade width
    9–20 mm
    Leaf ligule length
    0.5–2 mm
    Leaf ligule type
    the leaf ligule is in the form of fine hairs
    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 hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath, and some of the hairs have blisters at their bases
    Leaf sheath hairs
    there are hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath

  • Place

    Habitat
    • terrestrial
    • wetlands
    New England state
    • Massachusetts
    • Rhode Island
    Specific habitat
    • dunes
    • edges of wetlands
    • man-made or disturbed habitats
    • meadows or fields
    • shores of rivers or lakes

  • Stem, shoot, branch

    Stem spacing
    the stems grow close together in compact clusters or tufts

Wetland status

Usually occurs in wetlands, but occasionally in non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACW)

In New England

Distribution

Connecticut
absent
Maine
absent
Massachusetts
present
New Hampshire
absent
Rhode Island
present
Vermont
absent

Conservation status

Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.

Massachusetts
historical (S-rank: SH)
Rhode Island
historical (S-rank: SH), state historical (code: SH)

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key

13.  Dichanthelium scoparium (Lam.) Gould NC

velvety rosette-panicgrass. Panicum scoparium Lam. • MA, RI; coastal plain. Open, often wet, sandy soils of pond shores, wetland borders, and clearings, rarely also near dunes and along roadsides. This rare species is best identified by its unusual sheaths with a unique combination of characters. It is related to the common Dichanthelium clandestinum but differs in its smaller spikelets (2.2–2.8 mm vs. 2.4–3.6 mm), denser and softer sheath pubescence, ligule 0.5–1 (–2) mm long composed entirely of hairs (rather than a ciliate membrane 0.4–0.9 mm long), and viscid regions on the sheath (among other characters).

Native to North America?

Yes

Sometimes confused with

Dichanthelium clandestinum:
spikelets 2.4-3.6 mm long and leaf sheaths not retrorsely pubescent near the base or only sparsely to moderately so above a glabrous but not viscid zone (vs. D. scoparium, with spikelets 2.2-2.8 mm long and leaf sheaths moderately to densely retrorsely pubescent at the base above glabrous and viscid zone).

Synonyms

  • Panicum scoparium Lam.

Family

Poaceae

Genus

Dichanthelium