Leptochloa virgata

(L.) P. Beauv
Common names: Tropical sprangletop
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 25. Treatment on page 54.

Plants perennial. Culms 30-200 cm, erect, occasionally geniculate below, compressed, branched; internodes solid. Sheaths glabrous, scabrous, or sparsely pilose below, hairs never papillose-based; ligules 0.3-1 mm, truncate, firmly membranous, fimbriate or erose, some¬times pilose at the sides; blades 5-45 cm long, 4-10 mm wide, glabrous abaxially, glabrous or sparsely pilose adaxially. Panicles 5-60 cm, with 9-25 usually racemose (rarely subdigitate) branches; secondary panicles not present in the lower sheaths; branches (1.5) 3-18 cm, erect to spreading, somewhat flexible. Spikelets 2.5-4 mm, imbricate to distant, with 3-6 (8) florets. Lower glumes 1.7-2.9 mm, lanceolate, acute; upper glumes 1.7-3.8 mm, lanceolate to ovate, acute, acuminate, rarely mucronate; lemmas (1.5) 2.3-3.6 mm, ovate, chartaceous, veins sericeous, apices usually acute, rarely obtuse, unawned, mucronate, or awned, awns to 11 mm; paleas glabrous; anthers 2, 0.2-0.5 mm. Caryopses 1-1.8 mm long, about 0.5 mm wide, narrowly elliptic to ovate, somewhat laterally compressed. 2n = 40.

Distribution

S.C., Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Pacific Islands (Hawaii), Fla., Tex.

Discussion

Leptochloa virgata is a common neotropical species that extends from the southeastern United States through the West Indies to Argentina. Awn length and lemma pubescence vary continuously and independently, precluding their use in recognizing additional taxa.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"decumbent" is not a number.

... more about "Leptochloa virgata"
0.02 cm0.2 mm <br />2.0e-4 m <br /> (0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br />) +
bilobed +  and entire +
awned +, mucronate +, obtuse +  and acute +
Neil Snow +
(L.) P. Beauv +
1 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
multiple +, , +  and single +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (1.1 cm11 mm <br />0.011 m <br />) +
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 /> (45 cm450 mm <br />0.45 m <br />) +
pilose +  and glabrous +
usually linear +  and lanceolate occasionally ovate +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
subdigitate +, digitate +  and non-disarticulating +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (?) +
erect;spreading +
spikelike +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (18 cm180 mm <br />0.18 m <br />) +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.18 cm1.8 mm <br />0.0018 m <br />) +
compressed +, narrowly elliptic +  and ovate +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (?) +
triangular +  and dome--shaped +
sometimes longer +
membranous +
Tropical sprangletop +
compressed +  and geniculate +
30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br /> (200 cm2,000 mm <br />2 m <br />) +
not woody +
S.C. +, Puerto Rico +, Virgin Islands +, Pacific Islands (Hawaii) +, Fla. +  and Tex. +
not waisted +
capillary +
not disarticulating +
sometimes longer +
3 +  and 6 +
round +  and compressed +
reduced +
shorter or longer +
subtending +
rounded +  and weakly keeled +
subequal +  and unequal +
membranous +
papillose-based +
uncinate +
paniculate +  and racemose +
not absent +
0.23 cm2.3 mm <br />0.0023 m <br /> (0.36 cm3.6 mm <br />0.0036 m <br />) +
membranous +
sometimes longer +
fimbriate +
0.03 cm0.3 mm <br />3.0e-4 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
membranous +
inconspicuous +
acute +  and lanceolate +
0.17 cm1.7 mm <br />0.0017 m <br /> (0.29 cm2.9 mm <br />0.0029 m <br />) +
concealed +  and prominent +
2 +  and 1 +
subequal +
membranous +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (60 cm600 mm <br />0.6 m <br />) +
dry +  and fleshy +
spikelike +
pilose +, scabrous +  and glabrous +
imbricate +  and distant +
1 +  and 60 +
rounded +  and slightly keeled +
0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
1 +  and 3 +
compound +  and simple +
2 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
Gramineae +
Leptochloa virgata +
Leptochloa +
species +
membranous +
mucronate +, acuminate +, acute +, lanceolate +  and ovate +
0.17 cm1.7 mm <br />0.0017 m <br /> (0.38 cm3.8 mm <br />0.0038 m <br />) +
7 (?) +  and 13 (?) +
aquatic +  and terrestrial +
dioecious +, monoecious +  and synoecious +