Sporobolus purpurascens

(Sw.) Ham.
Common names: Purple dropseed
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 25. Treatment on page 133.

Plants perennial; cespitose, not rhizomatous. Culms 25-95 cm. Sheaths rounded below, upper margins sometimes sparsely hispid-ciliate, apices hairy, hairs to 5 mm; ligules 0.2-0.3 mm; blades 8-22 cm long, 2-5 mm wide, flat or involute, glabrous abaxially, scabridulous adaxially, margins scabrous, sometimes sparsely hispid. Panicles 5-30 cm long, 0.4-1.6 cm wide, narrow, contracted; lower nodes with 3 or 5 branches; primary branches 0.3-2 cm, appressed or spreading to 20° from the rachis, spikelet-bearing to near the base; secondary branches appressed; pedicels 0.2-2.5 mm, appressed, scabridulous. Spikelets 2.8-3.8 mm, purplish-red. Glumes unequal, linear-lanceolate to lanceolate or ovate, hyaline to membranous; lower glumes 0.9-3 mm; upper glumes 2.9-3.8 mm, subequal to the florets; lemmas 2.9-3.8 mm, ovate, membranous, glabrous, acute; paleas 2.9-3.8 mm, ovate, membranous; anthers 1.5-2 mm, yellowish to purplish. Fruits 1.8-2.3 mm, ellipsoid, somewhat laterally flattened, rugulose, reddish-brown. 2n = 60.

Discussion

Sporobolus purpurascens grows in oak scrub, prairie grasslands, and sandy sites near railroad crossings and roadsides, at elevations from 2-300 m. It extends from southern Texas through eastern Mexico, the West Indies, and Central America to Brazil.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"decumbent" is not a number.

... more about "Sporobolus purpurascens"
quadrangular +, fusiform +, obovoid +  and ellipsoid +
yellowish +  and purplish +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
Paul M. Peterson +, Stephan L. Hatch +  and Alan S. Weakley +
(Sw.) Ham. +
1 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
multiple +, , +  and single +
keeled +  and rounded +
pseudopetiolate +  and branching +
not fused +
intravaginal +, extravaginal +, branching +  and basal +
swelling +
membranous +
not pseudopetiolate +
8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br /> (22 cm220 mm <br />0.22 m <br />) +
scabridulous +
involute +  and flat +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
spikelike +
triangular +  and dome--shaped +
sometimes longer +
membranous +
Purple dropseed +
25 cm250 mm <br />0.25 m <br /> (95 cm950 mm <br />0.95 m <br />) +
not woody +
not waisted +
capillary +
pistillate +  and staminate +
sometimes longer +
bisexual +  and fertile +
round +  and compressed +
reduced +
reddish-brown +
rugulose +
flattened +  and ellipsoid +
0.18 cm1.8 mm <br />0.0018 m <br /> (0.23 cm2.3 mm <br />0.0023 m <br />) +
shorter or longer +
subtending +
linear-lanceolate +  and lanceolate or ovate +
unequal +
membranous +
uncinate +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
paniculate +  and racemose +
hollow +  and solid +
not absent +
acute +  and ovate +
0.29 cm2.9 mm <br />0.0029 m <br /> (0.38 cm3.8 mm <br />0.0038 m <br />) +
membranous +
sometimes longer +
0.02 cm0.2 mm <br />2.0e-4 m <br /> (0.03 cm0.3 mm <br />3.0e-4 m <br />) +
inconspicuous +
0.09 cm0.9 mm <br />9.0e-4 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
concealed +  and prominent +
2 +  and 1 +
0.29 cm2.9 mm <br />0.0029 m <br /> (0.38 cm3.8 mm <br />0.0038 m <br />) +
membranous +
5cm +  and 30cm +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (1.6 cm16 mm <br />0.016 m <br />) +
scabridulous +
0.02 cm0.2 mm <br />2.0e-4 m <br /> (0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br />) +
mucilaginous +
adherent +  and free +
dry +  and fleshy +
spreading;appressed +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
spikelike +
1 +  and 60 +
rounded +  and laterally compressed +
0.28 cm2.8 mm <br />0.0028 m <br /> (0.38 cm3.8 mm <br />0.0038 m <br />) +
1 +  and 3 +
compound +  and simple +
2 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
Gramineae +
Sporobolus purpurascens +
Sporobolus +
species +
membranous +
0.29 cm2.9 mm <br />0.0029 m <br /> (0.38 cm3.8 mm <br />0.0038 m <br />) +
quadrangular +, fusiform +, obovoid +  and ellipsoid +
7 (?) +  and 13 (?) +
plant +  and cespitose +
aquatic +  and terrestrial +
dioecious +, monoecious +  and synoecious +