Your help is appreciated. We depend on donations to help keep this site free and up to date for you. Can you please help us?

Donate

Native Plant Trust: Go Botany Discover thousands of New England plants

Sacciolepis striata — American cup-scale

Copyright: various copyright holders. To reuse an image, please click it to see who you will need to contact.

Facts

N/A

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), shores of rivers or lakes

New England distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

Found this plant? Take a photo and post a sighting.

North America distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

enlarge

Characteristics

Habitat
wetlands
New England state
Massachusetts
Leaf blade width
2.9–22 mm
Inflorescence branches
  • the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence
  • there are no branch points between the base of the inflorescence axis and the flowers, or they are not obvious
Spikelet length
2.9–5 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
  • there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath
Leaf ligule length
0.2–0.7 mm
Anther length
0.7–1 mm
Show all characteristics
  • Flowers

    Anther length
    0.7–1 mm
    Anther number
    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
    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
    • there are no branch points between the base of the inflorescence axis and the flowers, or they are not obvious
    Inflorescence length
    30–295 mm
    Inflorescence type (general)
    the inflorescence is a spike, or is spike-like, lacking obvious 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 tip shape
    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
    • 3
    • 5
    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
    2.9–5 mm
    Spikelet pedicel
    the spikelets have pedicels
    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)
  • Leaves

    Leaf blade width
    2.9–22 mm
    Leaf ligule length
    0.2–0.7 mm
    Leaf ligule type
    the leaf ligule is in the form of a membrane with 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
    • there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath
    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
    wetlands
    New England state
    Massachusetts
    Specific habitat
    • man-made or disturbed habitats
    • shores of rivers or lakes
  • Stem, shoot, branch

    Stem spacing
    the stems grow singly or a few together (they may form diffuse colonies)

Wetland status

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

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.

Massachusetts
not applicable (S-rank: SNA)

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key

1.  Sacciolepis striata (L.) Nash E

American cup-scale. Holcus striatus L.; Panicum aquaticum Bosc ex Spreng. • MA. 
 Ditches, shorelines.

Native to North America?

Yes and no (some introduced)

Sometimes confused with

Urochloa texana:
upper lemma transversely rugose and panicle branches secund, with a triquetrous axis (vs. S. striata, with the upper lemma not transversely rugose and the panicle branches not second and without a triquetrous axis).
Dichanthelium xanthophysum:
upper lemma transversely rugose and panicle branches spike-like, secund, with a triquetrous axis (vs. S. striata, with the upper lemma not transversely rugose and the panicle branches open-branched, not second, and without a triquetrous axis).

Synonyms

  • Holcus striatus L.
  • Panicum aquaticum Bosc ex Spreng.

Family

Poaceae

Genus

Sacciolepis