Leptochloa chinensis

(L.) Nees
Common names: Asian sprangletop
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 25. Treatment on page 59.

Plants annual or perennial. Culms 15-100 cm, round, glabrous or appressed-pubescent; internodes hollow. Sheaths sometimes flattened below, usually glabrous, sometimes sparsely pilose at the apices; ligules 1.8-5.4 mm, truncate, erose or ciliate; blades (1) 5-30 cm long, 4-8 mm wide, glabrous, sometimes scabridulous. Panicles 20-50 cm, with 25-60 racemose branches; branches (1) 4-8 (14) cm, erect to slightly reflexed, usually straight. Spikelets 2.5-3.7 (4.2) mm, imbricate to somewhat distant, green to tan, with 4-6 florets. Glumes triangular to lanceolate; lower glumes 1.1-1.7 mm; upper glumes 1.6-2 mm; rachilla segments usually visible between the florets; lemmas 1.2-1.7 mm, ovate to elliptic, glabrous or hairy along and between the veins, apices broadly acute or obtuse; paleas glabrous or hairy; anthers 3, 0.4-0.6 mm. Caryopses 0.9-1.9 mm long, 0.6-0.8 mm wide. 2n = 40.

Discussion

Leptochloa chinensis is not yet known from the Flora region but, if introduced, it could become an aggressive weed because it competes well in undisturbed mesic sites. Although it resembles L. panicea, L. chinensis differs in its glabrous, or nearly glabrous, sheaths and blades.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"decumbent" is not a number.

... more about "Leptochloa chinensis"
0.04 cm0.4 mm <br />4.0e-4 m <br /> (0.06 cm0.6 mm <br />6.0e-4 m <br />) +
bilobed +  and entire +
obtuse +  and acute +
Neil Snow +
(L.) Nees +
1 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
multiple +, , +  and single +
keeled +  and rounded +
pseudopetiolate +  and branching +
not fused +
intravaginal +, extravaginal +, branching +  and basal +
swelling +
membranous +
not pseudopetiolate +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br />) +
scabridulous +
usually linear +  and lanceolate occasionally ovate +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
subdigitate +, digitate +  and non-disarticulating +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (?) +
erect;slightly reflexed +
spikelike +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br />) +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
0.09 cm0.9 mm <br />9.0e-4 m <br /> (0.19 cm1.9 mm <br />0.0019 m <br />) +
obovate +  and elliptic +
0.06 cm0.6 mm <br />6.0e-4 m <br /> (0.08 cm0.8 mm <br />8.0e-4 m <br />) +
triangular +  and dome--shaped +
sometimes longer +
membranous +
Asian sprangletop +
branching +  and rooting +
usually ascending +  and erect +
appressed-pubescent +  and glabrous +
15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br /> (100 cm1,000 mm <br />1 m <br />) +
not woody +
Conn. +, N.J. +, N.Y. +, Ala. +, Ark. +, Ariz. +, Calif. +, Fla. +, Ga. +, Ill. +, Kans. +, Ky. +, La. +, Mo. +, Miss. +, N.C. +, N.Mex. +, Okla. +, Puerto Rico +, S.C. +, Tenn. +, Tex. +, Wash. +, W.Va. +, Va. +, Del. +, D.C +, Wis. +, Pa. +, Maine +, N.H. +, Pacific Islands (Hawaii) +, Wyo. +, Ind. +, Virgin Islands +, Nev. +, Colo. +, Oreg. +, N.Dak. +, Nebr. +, S.Dak. +, Mass. +, R.I. +, Vt. +, Ohio +, Utah +, Iowa +, Idaho +, Md. +, Minn. +, Mich. +, Mont. +, B.C. +, Ont. +  and Que. +
not waisted +
capillary +
not disarticulating +
sometimes longer +
4 +  and 6 +
round +  and compressed +
reduced +
shorter or longer +
subtending +
triangular +  and lanceolate +
subequal +  and unequal +
membranous +
uncinate +
paniculate +  and racemose +
not absent +
hairy +  and glabrous +
ovate +  and elliptic +
0.12 cm1.2 mm <br />0.0012 m <br /> (0.17 cm1.7 mm <br />0.0017 m <br />) +
membranous +
ciliate +, erose +  and truncate +
sometimes longer +
obtuse +  and attenuate +
0.18 cm1.8 mm <br />0.0018 m <br /> (0.54 cm5.4 mm <br />0.0054 m <br />) +
membranous +
inconspicuous +
0.11 cm1.1 mm <br />0.0011 m <br /> (0.17 cm1.7 mm <br />0.0017 m <br />) +
concealed +  and prominent +
2 +  and 1 +
hairy +  and glabrous +
subequal +
membranous +
20 cm200 mm <br />0.2 m <br /> (50 cm500 mm <br />0.5 m <br />) +
dry +  and fleshy +
spikelike +
pilose +  and glabrous +
flattened +
distant +  and imbricate to somewhat +
green +  and tan +
1 +  and 60 +
rounded +  and slightly keeled +
0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br /> (0.37 cm3.7 mm <br />0.0037 m <br />) +
1 +  and 3 +
compound +  and simple +
2 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
Gramineae +
Leptochloa chinensis +
Leptochloa +
species +
membranous +
0.16 cm1.6 mm <br />0.0016 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
7 (?) +  and 13 (?) +
obtuse +  and acute +
perennial +  and annual +
aquatic +  and terrestrial +
dioecious +, monoecious +  and synoecious +