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.
... more about "Sporobolus cryptandrus"
Paul M. Peterson +, Stephan L. Hatch +  and Alan S. Weakley +
(Torr.) A. Gray +
Sand dropseed +  and Sporobole a fleurs cachees +
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. +
Sporobolus cryptandrus subsp. fuscicolus +  and Sporobolus cryptandrus var. fuscicolor +
Sporobolus cryptandrus +
Sporobolus +
species +