Leptochloa panicea — needle sprangletop
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Facts
Needle sprangletop's New England presence is limited to Massachusetts, where it has been collected in fields, roadsides and gardens.
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), meadows and fields
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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enlargeCharacteristics
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
- Massachusetts
- Leaf blade width
- 2–21 mm
- Inflorescence branches
- the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence
- Spikelet length
- 2–4 mm
- Glume relative length
- neither glume is quite as long as 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
- 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
- 0.6–3.2 mm
- Anther length
- 0.2–0.3 mm
-
Flowers
- Anther length
- 0.2–0.3 mm
- Anther number
- 2–3
- Awn on glume
- the glume has no awn
- Floret lower bract texture
- the lemma is thin and flexible
- Floret number
- 2–6
- Glume relative length
- neither glume is quite as long as all of the florets
- Glume veins
- 1
- Inflorescence arrangement
- the spikelets are uniform
- Inflorescence axis orientation
-
- the inflorescence axis is arched or curved outward
- the inflorescence axis is straight
- Inflorescence branches
- the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence
- Inflorescence length
- 80–250 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 length
- 0 mm
- Lemma awn number
- the lemma has no awn
- Lemma cross-section
- the lemma is V-shaped if you cut across the midpoint
- Lemma surface
- the surface of the lemma is relatively smooth (not counting any longitudinal veins or hairs)
- Lemma vein number
- 3
- One or more florets
- there is more than one floret per spikelet
- Palea relative length
- palea is one half to fully as long as lemma
- Spikelet axis tip
- there is an extension of the spikelet axis beyond the tip of the spikelet
- Spikelet length
- 2–4 mm
- Spikelets spiny
- the spikelets do not appear spiny
-
Leaves
- Leaf auricles
- the leaves do not have auricles
- Leaf blade width
- 2–21 mm
- Leaf ligule length
- 0.6–3.2 mm
- Leaf ligule type
- the leaf ligule is in the form of a membrane
- 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
- New England state
- Massachusetts
- Specific habitat
-
- man-made or disturbed habitats
- meadows or fields
-
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
- absent
- Vermont
- absent
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
ssp. mucronata
- Massachusetts
- not applicable (S-rank: SNA)
Subspecies and varieties
Our subspecies is Leptochloa panicea (Retz.) Ohwi ssp. mucronata.
From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key
2. Leptochloa panicea (Retz.) Ohwi ssp. mucronata (Michx.) Nowack E
needle sprangletop. Leptochloa filiformis (Lam.) Beauv. var. attenuata (Nutt.) Steyermark & Kucera; L. mucronata (Michx.) Kunth • MA. Fields, roadsides, gardens.
Native to North America?
Yes and no (some introduced)
Sometimes confused with
- Leptochloa fusca:
- leaf sheaths glabrous or scabrous, but not pustulose-pubescent, ligule 2–8 mm long, attenuate at apex and becoming lacerate at maturity, and spikelets 5–12 mm long (vs. L. panacea, with leaf sheaths sparsely to densely pubescent with pustulose-based hairs, ligule 0.6–3.2 mm long, truncate at apex, and spikelets 2–4 mm long).
Synonyms
- Leptochloa filiformis (Lam.) Beauv. var. attenuata (Nutt.) Steyermark & Kucera
- Leptochloa mucronata (Michx.) Kunth