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Prairie Wedgescale

Sphenopholis obtusata (Michx.) Scribn.

Comprehensive Description

provided by North American Flora
Sphenopholis obtusata (Michx.) Scribn. Rhodora 8: 144. 1906.
Aira obtusata Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 1: 62. 1803.
Airopsis oblusata Desv. Jour, de Bot. Desv. 1: 200. 1808. (Based on " Agrostis" [Aira] obtusata
Michx.) Aira truncata Muhl. Descr. Gram. 83. 1817. (Type from Pennsylvania.) Koeleria paniculata Nutt. Gen. Add. 1818. (Type from East Florida, T. Say.) Koeleria truncata Torr. Fl. U. S. 116. 1823. (Based on Aira truncata Muhl.) Poa obtusata Link, Hort. Berol. 1: 176. 1827. (Based on Aira obtusata Michx.) Trisetum lobatum Trin. M6m. Acad. St.-P^tersb. VI. 1: 66. 1830. (Type from North America.) Reboulea gracilis TiiunXh, R^v. Gram. 341. 1830. (Type from New England to Florida and Ciu-olina.) Reboulea obtusata A. Gray, Man. 591. 1848. (Based on Aira obtusata Michx.) Eatonia obtusata A. Gray. Man. ed. 2. 558. 1856. (Based on Aira obtusata Michx.) Eatonia densiflora Fourn. Mex. PI. Gram. 111. 1886. (Type from Bejar, Texas, Berlandier 1617.) Eatonia obtusata var. robusta Vasey; L. Dewey, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 2: 544. 1894. (Type from
Wallisville, Texas.) Eatonia obtusata var. purpurascens Vasey; Rydb. & Shear, Bull. U. S. Dep. Agr. Agrost. 5: 30. 1897.
(Type from False Washita, Oklahoma, Palmer 404.) Eatonia pubescens Scribn. & Merr. Circ. U. S. Dep. Agr. Agrost. 27: 6. 1900. (Type from Starkville,
Mississippi, Tracy.) Eatonia robusta Rydb. Bull. Torrcy Club 32: 602. 1905. (Based on E. obtusata var. robusta Vasey.) Sphenopholis obtusata lobata Scribn. Rhodora 8: 144. 1906. (Based on Trisetum lobatum Trin.) Sphenopholis obtusata pubescens Scribn. Rhodora 8: 144. 1906. (Based on Eatonia pubescens
Scribn. & Merr.) Eatonia annua Suk.sd. W. Am. Sci. IS: 50. 1906. (Type from Dalles on the Columbia River,
Oregon, Suksdorf 155^. Plants depauperate, flowering the first year.) Sphenopholis annua A. Heller, Muhlcnbergia 6: 12. 1910. (Based on Eatonia annua Suk.sd.) Sphenopholis pubescens A. Heller, Muhlenbcrgia 6: 12. 1910. (Based on Eatonia pubescens Scribn.
& Merr.) Sphenopholis robusta A. Heller, Muhlenbcrgia 6: 12. 1910. (Based on Eatonia obtusata var. robusta
Vasey.) Reboulea obtusata var. pubescens FarwcU, Rep. Mich. Acad. 17; 181. 1916. (Based on Eatonia
pubescens Scribn. & Merr.) RebouUa obtusata var. lobata Farwcll, Rep. Mich. Acad. 17: 182. 1916. (Based on Trisetum lobatum
Trin.)
Culms erect, tufted, glabrous or slightly scaberulous, especially below the panicle, 30-100 cm. tall; sheaths glabrous or finely rctrorsely pubescent; ligule truncate; erose-dentatc; blades flat, glabrous or scabrous or pubescent, mostly 2-5 mm. wide; panicle erect or somewhat nodding when long and heavy, dense, spikelikc to interrupted or lobed, rarely slightly looser, green or tinged with purple, often stramineous at maturity, 5-20 cm. long; spikelets 2.5-3.5 mm. long, the 2 florets closer together than in the other species; first glume I -nerved, very narrow, scabrous on the keel, about as long as the second; second glume very broad, subcucullate, somewhat inflated at maturity, 5-nerved, scabrous, hyaline-margined; lemmas minutely papillose in texture, the tip greenish, rarely mucronate or with a short straight awn, the lower about 2.5 mm. long.
Type locality: "Carolina to Florida," the type specimen from Florida.
Distribution: Open woods, old fields, moist ground, and prairies, Maine to British Columbia, and southward to Florida and Mexico; Dominican Republic.
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bibliographic citation
Albert Spear Hitchcock, Jason Richard Swallen, Agnes Chase. 1939. (POALES); POACEAE (pars). North American flora. vol 17(8). New York Botanical Garden, New York, NY
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Physical Description

provided by USDA PLANTS text
Perennials, Terrestrial, not aquatic, Stems nodes swollen or brittle, Stems erect or ascending, Stems caespitose, tufted, or clustered, Stems terete, round in cross section, or polygonal, Stem internodes hollow, Stems with inflorescence less than 1 m t all, Stems, culms, or scapes exceeding basal leaves, Leaves mostly basal, below middle of stem, Leaves mostly cauline, Leaves conspicuously 2-ranked, distichous, Leaves sheathing at base, Leaf sheath mostly open, or loose, Leaf sheath smooth, glabrous, Leaf sheath hairy, hispid or prickly, Leaf sheath and blade differentiated, Leaf blades linear, Leaf blades 2-10 mm wide, Leaf blades mostly flat, Leaf blades mostly glabrous, Leaf blades more or less hairy, Ligule present, Ligule an unfringed eciliate membrane, Inflorescence terminal, Inflorescence a contracted panicle, narrowly paniculate, branches appressed or ascending, Inflorescence solitary, with 1 spike, fascicle, glomerule, head, or cluster per stem or culm, Flowers bisexual, Spikelets pedicellate, Spikelets laterally compressed, Spikelet less than 3 mm wide, Spikelets with 2 florets, Spikelets with 3-7 florets, Spikelets solitary at rachis nodes, Spikelets all alike and fertille, Spikelets bisexual, Spikelets disart iculating below the glumes, Spikelets disarticulating beneath or between the florets, Rachilla or pedicel hairy, Glumes present, empty bracts, Glumes 2 clearly present, Glumes distinctly unequal, Glumes shorter than adjacent lemma, Glumes equal to or longer than adjacent lemma, Glumes keeled or winged, Glumes 1 nerved, Glumes 3 nerved, Lemma similar in texture to glumes, Lemma 5-7 nerved, Lemma glabrous, Lemma apex truncate, rounded, or obtuse, Lemma awnless, Lemma mucronate, very shortly beaked or awned, less than 1-2 mm, Lemma margins thin, lying flat, Lemma straight, Palea present, well developed, Palea membranous, hyaline, Palea shorter than lemma, Palea 2 nerved or 2 keeled, Stamens 3, Styles 2-fid, deeply 2-branched, Stigmas 2, Fruit - caryopsis.
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Dr. David Bogler
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Sphenopholis obtusata

provided by wikipedia EN

Sphenopholis obtusata is a species of grass known by the common names prairie wedgescale[1] and prairie wedge grass. It is native to North America where it is widespread across southern Canada and the United States. It occurs in many types of habitat, including prairie, marshes, dunes, and disturbed areas.

Description

Sphenopholis obtusata is a perennial bunchgrass growing 20 centimeters to well over one meter in maximum height. The short leaves have ligules with jagged tips. The inflorescence is generally a dense, spikelike panicle of oval-shaped spikelets. The inflorescence is greenish white, darkening brownish as it matures.

References

  1. ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Sphenopholis obtusata". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 25 November 2015.

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Sphenopholis obtusata: Brief Summary

provided by wikipedia EN

Sphenopholis obtusata is a species of grass known by the common names prairie wedgescale and prairie wedge grass. It is native to North America where it is widespread across southern Canada and the United States. It occurs in many types of habitat, including prairie, marshes, dunes, and disturbed areas.

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