Dichanthelium acuminatum

From Puget Prairie Plants
Revision as of 20:25, 20 July 2012 by Cromel02 (Talk | contribs) (Uses)

Common name: tapered rosette grass, Western panicum, Western witchgrass, Western panicgrass.


Abbreviation code (Codon): DIAC


Dichanthelium acuminatum
Dichanthelium acuminatum
Dichanthelium acuminatum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta
Phylum: Spermatophyta
Subphylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Subclass: Commelinidae
Order: Cyperales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Dichanthelium
Species: Dichanthelium acuminatum


Description

Tufted perennial; stems yellowish-green, leafy towards base, spreading, usually velvety-hairy, 15-40 cm tall. Leaves flat, firm, erect to ascending, hairy, 5-10 mm wide, no auricles; ligules 3-4 mm long, consisting of long hairs.

Inflorescence a panicle, open, 3-9 cm long; spikelets up to 2 mm long, short-hairy, two flowered, the lower flower sterile; glumes unequal in size; fertile lemmas hardened (Pojar and MacKinnon, 1994)

Dichanthelium acuminatum in flower. Image by Rod Gilbert

Bloom Period

June-September

Dichantheliums are characterized by two distinct blooming periods. The conspicuous primary flowering heads are terminal to the culms and are produced in late spring and early summer. Secondary flowering heads are produced from the leaf axils begininning in mid-summer and continuing into early autumn. The primary flowering heads usually have a lower seedset than the secondary ones, which have flowers that remain closed and are self pollinated. However, seeds produced by the primary flowers appear to germinate more readily than seeds from the secondary flowers.

(nativeplantnetwork.org)

Distribution

Southern British Columbia south along the coast to California; east of the Cascades mainly along water courses or around springs in the mountains, east to Montana and Wyoming.

Dichanthelium acuminatum vegetation. Image by Rod Gilbert.

Habitat

Rocky or sandy river banks or lake margins to open woods, marshy areas or dry prairies, from sea level to high elevation in the mountains. Moist, sandy ground (lakeshores, beaches, stream banks), rocky and gravelly areas in bogs, meadows and open forests at low to mid elevations [1]

Uses

Landscaping: Panic grass is good for a low-traffic ground cover. Useful ground cover in controlled moist area. Attractive fall/winter color. Excellent in poorly-drained locations Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag
  1. (Pojar and MacKinnon, 1994).