Pappophorum vaginatum

Buckley
Common names: Whiplash pappusgrass
Synonyms: Pappophorum mucronulatum
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 25. Treatment on page 286.

Culms (40)50-100 cm. Sheaths mostly glabrous, with a tuft of hairs at the throat; blades 10-25 cm long, 2-5 mm wide, flat to involute, adaxial surfaces scabridulous. Panicles 10-25 cm, tightly contracted, usually white or tawny, rarely slightly purple-tinged. Spikelets with 1(2) bisexual florets and 2 reduced florets. Glumes (3)4-4.5 mm, glabrous, acute; lowest lemma bodies 3-3.2 mm, midveins and margins pubescent from the base to about midlength, awns about twice as long as the lemma bodies, tending to spread at right angles when mature; paleas longer than the lemma bodies. 2n = 60.

Distribution

Maine, N.Y., Ariz., N.Mex., Tex.

Discussion

Pappophorum vaginatum grows in similar habitats to P. bicolor, the two species sometimes growing together. Its range extends from southern Arizona to Texas and northern Mexico and from Uruguay to Argentina.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.