Sporobolus cryptandrus

(Torr.) A. Gray
Common names: Sand dropseed Sporobole a fleurs cachees
Synonyms: Sporobolus cryptandrus subsp. fuscicolus Sporobolus cryptandrus var. fuscicolor
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 25. Treatment on page 129.

Plants perennial; cespitose, not rhizomatous, bases not hard and knotty. Culms 30-100 (120) cm tall, 1-3.5 mm thick, erect to decumbent. Sheaths rounded below, glabrous or scabridulous, margins sometimes ciliate distally, apices with conspicuous tufts of hairs, hairs to 4 mm; ligules 0.5-1 mm; blades (2) 5-26 cm long, 2-6 mm wide, flat to involute, glabrous abaxially, scabridulous to scabrous adaxially, margins scabridulous; flag blades nearly perpendicular to the culms. Panicles 15-40 cm long, 2-12 (14) cm wide, longer than wide, initially contracted and spikelike, ultimately open and narrowly pyramidal; rachises straight, erect; lower nodes with 1-2 (3) branches; primary branches 0.6-6 cm, appressed, spreading, or reflexed to 130° from the rachis, without spikelets on the lower 1/8 – 1/4; lower branches longest, included in the uppermost sheath; secondary branches appressed; pulvini glabrous; pedicels 0.1-1.3 mm, appressed, glabrous or scabridulous. Spikelets 1.5-2.5 (2.7) mm, brownish, plumbeous, or purplish-tinged. Glumes unequal, linear-lanceolate to ovate, membranous; lower glumes 0.6-1.1 mm; upper glumes 1.5-2.7 mm, at least 2/3 as long as the florets; lemmas 1.4-2.5 (2.7) mm, ovate to lanceolate, membranous, glabrous, acute; paleas 1.2-2.4 mm, lanceolate, membranous; anthers 0.5-1 mm, yellowish to purplish. Fruits 0.7-1.1 mm, ellipsoid, light brownish to reddish-orange. 2n = 36, 38, 72.

Distribution

Wash., Wis., W.Va., Kans., N.Dak., Nebr., S.Dak., Wyo., N.H., N.J., N.Mex., Tex., La., Conn., N.Y., N.C., Tenn., Pa., R.I., Nev., Va., Colo., Calif., Ark., Vt., Ill., Ga., Ind., Iowa, Okla., Ariz., Idaho, Alta., B.C., Man., Ont., Que., Sask., Maine, Mass., Ohio, Utah, Mo., Minn., Mich., Mont., Miss., S.C., Ky., Oreg.

Discussion

Sporobolus cryptandrus is a widespread North American species, extending from Canada into Mexico. It grows in sandy soils and washes, on rocky slopes and calcareous ridges, and along roadsides in salt-desert scrub, pinyon-juniper woodlands, yellow pine forests, and desert grasslands. Its elevational range is 0-2900 m.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"decumbent" is not a number.

... more about "Sporobolus cryptandrus"
72 +, 38 +  and 36 +
quadrangular +, fusiform +, obovoid +  and ellipsoid +
yellowish +  and purplish +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
Paul M. Peterson +, Stephan L. Hatch +  and Alan S. Weakley +
(Torr.) A. Gray +
1 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
multiple +, , +  and single +
keeled +  and rounded +
pseudopetiolate +  and branching +
not fused +
intravaginal +, extravaginal +, branching +  and basal +
swelling +
not hard +
not pseudopetiolate +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (26 cm260 mm <br />0.26 m <br />) +
scabridulous +  and scabrous +
flat +  and involute +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
spikelike +
triangular +  and dome--shaped +
sometimes longer +
membranous +
Sand dropseed +  and Sporobole a fleurs cachees +
30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br /> (100 cm1,000 mm <br />1 m <br />) +
erect +  and decumbent +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (250 cm2,500 mm <br />2.5 m <br />) +
not woody +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br />) +
Wash. +, Wis. +, W.Va. +, Kans. +, N.Dak. +, Nebr. +, S.Dak. +, Wyo. +, N.H. +, N.J. +, N.Mex. +, Tex. +, La. +, Conn. +, N.Y. +, N.C. +, Tenn. +, Pa. +, R.I. +, Nev. +, Va. +, Colo. +, Calif. +, Ark. +, Vt. +, Ill. +, Ga. +, Ind. +, Iowa +, Okla. +, Ariz. +, Idaho +, Alta. +, B.C. +, Man. +, Ont. +, Que. +, Sask. +, Maine +, Mass. +, Ohio +, Utah +, Mo. +, Minn. +, Mich. +, Mont. +, Miss. +, S.C. +, Ky. +  and Oreg. +
not waisted +
capillary +
pistillate +  and staminate +
sometimes longer +
bisexual +  and fertile +
round +  and compressed +
reduced +
light brownish +  and reddish-orange +
ellipsoid +
0.07 cm0.7 mm <br />7.0e-4 m <br /> (0.11 cm1.1 mm <br />0.0011 m <br />) +
shorter or longer +
subtending +
linear-lanceolate +  and ovate +
unequal +
membranous +
uncinate +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
paniculate +  and racemose +
hollow +  and solid +
not absent +
acute +, ovate +  and lanceolate +
0.14 cm1.4 mm <br />0.0014 m <br /> (0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br />) +
membranous +
sometimes longer +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
inconspicuous +
0.06 cm0.6 mm <br />6.0e-4 m <br /> (0.11 cm1.1 mm <br />0.0011 m <br />) +
scabridulous +
concealed +  and prominent +
2 +  and 1 +
lanceolate +
0.12 cm1.2 mm <br />0.0012 m <br /> (0.24 cm2.4 mm <br />0.0024 m <br />) +
membranous +
15cm +  and 40cm +
longer than wide +
pyramidal +  and spikelike +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (12 cm120 mm <br />0.12 m <br />) +
scabridulous +
0.01 cm0.1 mm <br />1.0e-4 m <br /> (0.13 cm1.3 mm <br />0.0013 m <br />) +
mucilaginous +
adherent +  and free +
dry +  and fleshy +
reflexed;spreading;reflexed;spreading;appressed +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br />) +
spikelike +
scabridulous +
purplish-tinged +, plumbeous +  and brownish +
1 +  and 60 +
rounded +  and laterally compressed +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br />) +
1 +  and 3 +
compound +  and simple +
2 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
Sporobolus cryptandrus subsp. fuscicolus +  and Sporobolus cryptandrus var. fuscicolor +
Sporobolus cryptandrus +
Sporobolus +
species +
membranous +
conspicuous +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.27 cm2.7 mm <br />0.0027 m <br />) +
quadrangular +, fusiform +, obovoid +  and ellipsoid +
7 (?) +  and 13 (?) +
plant +  and cespitose +
aquatic +  and terrestrial +
dioecious +, monoecious +  and synoecious +