Leptochloa panicoides

(J. Presl) Hitchc.
Common names: Amazon sprangletop
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 25. Treatment on page 59.

Plants annual. Culms (7) 45-110 cm, often geniculate below, usually ascending to erect above, rarely branching at the base, often branching distally; internodes hollow. Sheaths glabrous, margins occasionally sparsely ciliate on the basal 1/2; ligules 2.2-3.8 mm, membra¬nous, truncate, somewhat erose; blades 4-20 cm long, 4-8 mm wide, both surfaces smooth or scabridulous. Panicles 20-35 cm, with 20-30 (90) racemose branches; branches 2.5-7 cm, ascending, mostly stiff. Spikelets 4-5 mm, usually somewhat imbricate, with 4-6 (7) florets. Lower glumes 0.9-1.9 mm, usually lanceolate, sometimes falcate, acute; upper glumes 1.8-2.3 mm, ovate, acute to obtuse; lemmas 2.4-3 mm, narrowly elliptic to ovate, membranous, midveins and lateral-veins sericeous basally, lateral-veins prominent, excurrent, apices acute to broadly acute, unawned, sometimes mucronate; paleas glabrous; anthers 3, 0.6-0.8 mm. Caryopses 1.1-1.4 mm long, 0.7 mm wide, elliptic, depressed obovate in cross-section. 2n = 20.

Distribution

Puerto Rico, Va., Miss., Tex., La., Mo., Ala., Tenn., Ark., Ill., Ga., Ind., Ky., Fla.

Discussion

Leptochloa panicoides is native from the central Mississippi and Ohio river drainages south through Mesoamerica to Brazil. It usually grows in somewhat mesic habitats. It has been reported from two counties in Texas, but no specimens documenting the reports have been found so they are not shown.

Nicora (1995) merged Leptochloa panicoides with L. scabra, but the two differ consistently in the number of panicle branches, spikelet length, and prominence of the lemma veins.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"decumbent" is not a number.

... more about "Leptochloa panicoides"
0.06 cm0.6 mm <br />6.0e-4 m <br /> (0.08 cm0.8 mm <br />8.0e-4 m <br />) +
bilobed +  and entire +
mucronate +, acute +  and broadly acute +
Neil Snow +
(J. Presl) Hitchc. +
1 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
multiple +, , +  and single +
keeled +  and rounded +
pseudopetiolate +  and branching +
not fused +
intravaginal +, extravaginal +, branching +  and basal +
swelling +
membranous +
not pseudopetiolate +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (20 cm200 mm <br />0.2 m <br />) +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
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 +
spikelike +
2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br /> (7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br />) +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
0.11 cm1.1 mm <br />0.0011 m <br /> (0.14 cm1.4 mm <br />0.0014 m <br />) +
obovate +  and depressed +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (?) +
triangular +  and dome--shaped +
sometimes longer +
membranous +
Amazon sprangletop +
usually ascending +  and erect +
geniculate +
45 cm450 mm <br />0.45 m <br /> (110 cm1,100 mm <br />1.1 m <br />) +
not woody +
Puerto Rico +, Va. +, Miss. +, Tex. +, La. +, Mo. +, Ala. +, Tenn. +, Ark. +, Ill. +, Ga. +, Ind. +, Ky. +  and Fla. +
not waisted +
capillary +
not disarticulating +
sometimes longer +
4 +  and 6 +
round +  and compressed +
reduced +
shorter or longer +
subtending +
rounded +  and weakly keeled +
subequal +  and unequal +
membranous +
uncinate +
paniculate +  and racemose +
not absent +
narrowly elliptic +  and ovate +
0.24 cm2.4 mm <br />0.0024 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
membranous +
sometimes longer +
obtuse +  and attenuate +
0.22 cm2.2 mm <br />0.0022 m <br /> (0.38 cm3.8 mm <br />0.0038 m <br />) +
membranous +
inconspicuous +
acute +, falcate +  and lanceolate +
0.09 cm0.9 mm <br />9.0e-4 m <br /> (0.19 cm1.9 mm <br />0.0019 m <br />) +
concealed +  and prominent +
2 +  and 1 +
subequal +
membranous +
20 cm200 mm <br />0.2 m <br /> (35 cm350 mm <br />0.35 m <br />) +
dry +  and fleshy +
spikelike +
1 +  and 60 +
rounded +  and slightly keeled +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
1 +  and 3 +
compound +  and simple +
2 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
scabridulous +  and smooth +
Gramineae +
Leptochloa panicoides +
Leptochloa +
species +
membranous +
acute +  and obtuse +
0.18 cm1.8 mm <br />0.0018 m <br /> (0.23 cm2.3 mm <br />0.0023 m <br />) +
7 (?) +  and 13 (?) +
aquatic +  and terrestrial +
dioecious +, monoecious +  and synoecious +