Panicum flexile

(Gatt.) Scribn.
Common names: Wiry witchgrass Panic flexible
Endemic
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 25. Treatment on page 460.

Plants annual; delicate, green or yellow-green. Culms 10-75 cm, about 1 mm thick, simple or with erect basal branches; nodes densely pilose, hairs ascending; internodes glabrous or shortly pubescent distally. Sheaths longer than the internodes, green to purplish, hispid, margins sparsely ciliate; ligules 0.5-1.5 mm; blades 3-32 cm long, 1-7 mm wide, ascending to erect, linear, narrowing basally, flat or the margins involute, surfaces sparsely hirsute or pilose (rarely glabrous), hairs near the base papillose-based, margins prominent, apices acute. Panicles 5-45 cm long, 1-6 cm wide, at least 1/2 as long as the plants and 3 times longer than wide, open; rachises glabrous; primary branches usually alternate or subopposite, ascending to slightly divergent, secondary branches and pedicels attached to the distal 2/3; secondary branches diverging; pedicels 0.5-17 mm, ascending to appressed. Spikelets 2.5 - 3.7 mm long, 0.6-1.1 mm wide, narrowly ovoid, glabrous, acute; lower glumes 0.8-1.3 mm, 1/3 – 1/2 as long as the spikelets, acuminate; upper glumes 2.3-3.3 mm, 7-9-veined, exceeding the upper florets by about 0.6 mm; lower florets sterile; lower lemmas 2.2-2.7 mm, exceeding the upper florets by about 0.6 mm, 7-veined or 9-veined, apices scabridulous, pointed; lower paleas absent; upper florets 1.6-1.7 mm long, about 0.6 mm wide, usually smooth, usually pale, sometimes becoming dark at maturity. 2n = 18.

Distribution

Ala., Ill., Ind., Ky., Pa., W.Va., D.C., Wis., Ont., Que., Fla., N.J., Iowa, N.Dak., S.Dak., Tex., La., N.C., Tenn., N.Y., Va., Ark., Vt., Ga., Mass., Conn., Md., Kans., Okla., Ohio, Utah, Mo., Minn., Mich., Miss., S.C.

Discussion

Panicum flexile grows in fens and other calcareous wetlands, in dry, calcareous or mafic rock barrens, and in open woodlands, especially on limestone derived soils. It is restricted to the Flora region.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

No values specified."decumbent" is not a number."-11-veined" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.

... more about "Panicum flexile"
puberulent +
scabridulous +
pointed +  and acute +
anatomy +  and kranz +
Robert W. Freckmann +  and Michel G. Lelong +
(Gatt.) Scribn. +
1 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
keeled +  and rounded +
papillose-based +
divergent +  and parallel +
intravaginal +, extravaginal +, branching +  and basal +
swelling +
membranous +
disarticulating +  and pseudopetiolate +
non-radiate +  and radiate +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (32 cm320 mm <br />0.32 m <br />) +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
filiform +  and ovate flat +
spikelike +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
not developed +
terete +  and compressed +
thick-walled +
sometimes longer +
Wiry witchgrass +  and Panic flexible +
small green +
with erect basal branches +  and simple +
decumbent +  and erect +
not compressed +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (75 cm750 mm <br />0.75 m <br />) +
woody +  and not succulent +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (?) +
Ala. +, Ill. +, Ind. +, Ky. +, Pa. +, W.Va. +, D.C. +, Wis. +, Ont. +, Que. +, Fla. +, N.J. +, Iowa +, N.Dak. +, S.Dak. +, Tex. +, La. +, N.C. +, Tenn. +, N.Y. +, Va. +, Ark. +, Vt. +, Ga. +, Mass. +, Conn. +, Md. +, Kans. +, Okla. +, Ohio +, Utah +, Mo. +, Minn. +, Mich. +, Miss. +  and S.C. +
capillary +
germination +
pistillate +  and staminate +
sometimes longer +
compressed +  and terete +
shorter or longer +
subtending +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
tuberculate +
unequal +
membranous +
well-developed +
uncinate +
Oval (?) +  and Round (?) +
bracteate +  and ebracteate +
hollow +  and solid +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
coriaceous +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br />) +
membranous +
inconspicuous +
1/3 +  and 1/2 +
0.08 cm0.8 mm <br />8.0e-4 m <br /> (0.13 cm1.3 mm <br />0.0013 m <br />) +
9-veined +  and 7-veined +
0.22 cm2.2 mm <br />0.0022 m <br /> (0.27 cm2.7 mm <br />0.0027 m <br />) +
complex +  and simple +
concealed +  and prominent +
2 +  and 1 +
5cm +  and 45cm +
subterranean +
pyramidal +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br />) +
simple +  and compound +
ascending +  and appressed +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (1.7 cm17 mm <br />0.017 m <br />) +
dry +  and fleshy +
divergent +, subopposite +  and alternate +
not compressed +
in triplets +  and paired +
0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br /> (0.37 cm3.7 mm <br />0.0037 m <br />) +
1 +  and 60 +
unisexual +  and bisexual +
acute +  and ovoid +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
0.6mm +  and 1.1mm +
1 +  and 3 +
compound +  and simple +
fused +  and free +
2 +  and 3 +
dome--shaped +  and triangular +
pilose +  and hirsute +
Gramineae +
Panicum flexile +
Panicum sect. Panicum +
species +
membranous +
stipitate +  and sessile +
0.16 cm1.6 mm <br />0.0016 m <br /> (0.17 cm1.7 mm <br />0.0017 m <br />) +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (?) +
0.23 cm2.3 mm <br />0.0023 m <br /> (0.33 cm3.3 mm <br />0.0033 m <br />) +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
rugose +  and verrucose +
chartaceous-indurate +  and rigid +
yellow-green +  and green +
aquatic +  and terrestrial +
dioecious +, monoecious +  and synoecious +