Eriochloa punctata

(L.) Desv. ex Ham.
Common names: Louisiana cupgrass
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 25. Treatment on page 511.

Plants perennial; rhizomatous, often flowering the first-year and, resembling an annual. Culms 30-150 cm, erect or decumbent, not rooting at the lower nodes; internodes glabrous; nodes 3-10, glabrate. Sheaths occasionally inflated, glabrous (rarely puberulent), often purplish at maturity; ligules 0.4-1 mm; blades 10-50 cm long, (2) 4-10 (13) mm wide, linear, flat, straight, spreading, glabrous (rarely puberulent) on both surfaces. Panicles 9-22 cm long, 1-10 cm wide, contracted, rarely open; rachises scabrous to densely pubescent; branches (4) 8-20 (27), 1-6 cm long, 0.3-0.5 mm wide, appressed or divergent, glabrous, not winged, with 28-60 spikelets, spikelets mostly in unequally pedicellate pairs, solitary distally; pedicels 0.1-0.7 mm, uniformly pubescent, hairs about 0.1 mm. Spikelets (4) 4.5-5.7 mm long, 0.9-1.4 mm wide. Upper glumes equaling the lower lemmas, lanceolate, sparsely appressed pilose, 5-7-veined, acuminate, sometimes mucronate, mucro shorter than 0.5 mm; lower lemmas 4.3-5.5 mm long, 0.9-1.4 mm wide, lanceolate, setose, 5-7-veined, acuminate, unawned or mucronate; lower paleas absent; anthers absent; upper lemmas 2-3.5 mm (excluding the awn), 0.4-0.6 times as long as the lower lemmas, indurate, elliptic, 5-veined, rounded, awned, awns 0.6-1.5 mm; upper paleas 0.5-1.2 mm, indurate, blunt. 2n = 36.

Distribution

Md., Ga., Tex., La., Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Pacific Islands (Hawaii), Miss.

Discussion

Eriochloa punctata grows in coastal marshes, along water courses, and in moist swales and ditches of the coastal plain from Texas and Louisiana south through Mexico to Central and South America. It has not been possible to verify the identification of the specimen from Georgia for this treatment. If correct, it suggests that the species may be more widespread than generally thought.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"decumbent" is not a number."-0.6timesaslongasthelowerlemmas" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.

... more about "Eriochloa punctata"
anatomy +  and kranz +
Robert B. Shaw +, Robert D. Webster +  and Christine M. Bern +
(L.) Desv. ex Ham. +
1 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
0.06 cm0.6 mm <br />6.0e-4 m <br /> (0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br />) +
keeled +  and rounded +
pseudopetiolate +  and branching +
divergent +  and parallel +
intravaginal +, extravaginal +, branching +  and basal +
swelling +
membranous +
disarticulating +  and pseudopetiolate +
non-radiate +  and radiate +
straight +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (50 cm500 mm <br />0.5 m <br />) +
usually linear +  and lanceolate occasionally ovate +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (?) +  and 6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br /> (?) +
spikelike +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
0.03 cm0.3 mm <br />3.0e-4 m <br /> (0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br />) +
not developed +
terete +  and compressed +
sometimes longer +
Louisiana cupgrass +
not rooting +
decumbent +  and erect +
30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br /> (150 cm1,500 mm <br />1.5 m <br />) +
well-developed +
Md. +, Ga. +, Tex. +, La. +, Puerto Rico +, Virgin Islands +, Pacific Islands (Hawaii) +  and Miss. +
capillary +
germination +
pistillate +  and staminate +
sometimes longer +
compressed +  and terete +
shorter or longer +
subtending +
unequal +
membranous +
uncinate +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (?) +
bracteate +  and ebracteate +
solid +  and hollow +
cauline +  and basal +
coriaceous +
0.04 cm0.4 mm <br />4.0e-4 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
membranous +
inconspicuous +
4.3mm +  and 5.5mm +
mucronate +, acuminate +  and lanceolate +
0.9mm +  and 1.4mm +
complex +  and simple +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (?) +
concealed +  and prominent +
3 +  and 10 +
2 +  and 1 +
pedicellate +
9cm +  and 22cm +
subterranean +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br />) +
0.01 cm0.1 mm <br />1.0e-4 m <br /> (0.07 cm0.7 mm <br />7.0e-4 m <br />) +
dry +  and fleshy +
scabrous +  and densely pubescent +
elongate +
inflated +
in triplets +  and paired +
0.45 cm4.5 mm <br />0.0045 m <br /> (0.57 cm5.7 mm <br />0.0057 m <br />) +
subterranean +
28 +  and 60 +
unisexual +  and bisexual +
compressed +  and terete +
0.9mm +  and 1.4mm +
1 +  and 3 +
fused +  and free +
2 +  and 3 +
plumose +
dome--shaped +  and triangular +
Gramineae +
Eriochloa punctata +
Eriochloa +
species +
membranous +
mucronate +, acuminate +  and lanceolate +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br />) +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.12 cm1.2 mm <br />0.0012 m <br />) +
not pronounced +
annual +  and perennial +
aquatic +  and terrestrial +
dioecious +, monoecious +  and synoecious +