Field Key to VCR Plant Species
Subsection X. Herbaceous Plants with Round Stems and Flower
Branches Arranged Vertically Along the Stem
- 1a. Flattened seeds are lined tightly along one side of each branch, with no spaces between
seeds; stems jointed, hollow between joints (Grasses).
- 2a. Seeds fairly circular; flower branches leafy.
- 3a. Spikelets with a silky fringe around the margin; seeds somewhat pointed.....Dallis Grass, Paspalum dilatatum
(PSPDLT).
- 3b. Spikelets without silky fringe, oval-shaped; seeds blunt; leaf-blades firm, commonly folded, scattered along the stem; some of the blades, at least, 20 cm. long, commonly longer; stems usually 1-2 m. tall, erect.....Florlda Paspalum, Paspalum floridanum
(PSPFLR).
- 2b. Seeds long and pointed.
- 4a. Grows erect up to 2.4 m.; tall narrow shaggy inflorescence, yellow; often appears as if no branches are present (see
V111.15.b).....Salt-water Cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora
(SPRALT).
- 4b. Does not grow erect; stems thin, bend easily; leaves thin; flower scales purple
at flowering time; often forms large cowlicks in salt marshes.....Salt-meadow Cordrass, Spartina patens
(SPRPTN).
- 1b. Seeds not lined along just one side of each branch; stems jointed, holbw between
joins (Grasses).
- 5a. Flowering branches present all along stem, starting near base, mixed in
with leaves; seeds are fuzzy.
- 6a. Wiry flowering branches extend beyond the leaves.....Little Bluestem, Andropogon scoparius
(ANDSCP).
- 6b. Flowering branches tucked inside leaves; tan yellow color; grows in
clumps.....Broom Sedge, Andropogon virginicus
(ANDVRG).
- 5b. Flowering branches restricted to upper portion of stem.
- 7a. Inflorescence is fuzzy and plume-like; plant is usually over 1.8 m. tall; leaves stiff and wide; stem coarse and hollow; inflorescence purple in flower,
gray in fruit; usually grows in large colonies; spreads by rhizomes.....Common Reed, Phragmites communis
(PHRCMM).
- 7b. Inflorescence not fuzzy and plume-like, or if so, plant not usually over 1.8 m. tall.
- 8a. Flowering branches droop; spike heavy and nodding.....see 23 below.
- 8b. Flowering branches do not usually droop, or only a few of them do.
- 9a. Inflorescence is sparse and delicate, not full; branches
thin and wiry, naked for much of their length.
- 10a. Short wide basal leaves in a tight clump (rosette) that lasts through the winter; no elongate rhizomes.
- 11a. Leaf sheaths and (usually) blades either hairy or velvety over entire surface.
- 12a. Smooth, sticky ring below each node; stem and leaves grayish.....Panic Grass, Panicum scoparivm
(PNCSCP).
- 12b. Smooth, sticky ring below each node absent.....Panic Grass, Panicum lanuginosum
(PNCLNG).
- 11b. Leaf-blades and stems not not hairy, except for long marginal hairs a the base of the leaves; blades
rather broad, top one 4-9 mm. wide.....Panic Grass, Panicum sphaerocarpon
(PNCSPH).
- 10b. No winter rosettes.
- 13a. No rhizomes or hardened old bases; inflorescence green or purple. up to 40 cm. long; often grows in clumps.
- 14a. Flower clusters/earlets long-awned, single on end of branches; stems not branched from lowest nodes; grows up to 75 cm. tall.....Hairgrass, Muhlenbergia capillaris
(MHLBRG).
- 14b. Flower clusterslearlets along length of branches, not just at ends; stems smooth. flat, often branched from the lowest
nodes; leaves relatively wide; grows up to 2.1 m. tall.....Witchgrass, Panicum dichotomiflorum
(PNCDCH).
- 13. Rhizomes or hardened bases or persistant old stubble present; stems slender and smooth, hard or rigid.
- 15a. Strongly whitened; leaf-sheaths all exceeding internodes stem sections between nodes); rhizomes with remote elongated scales.
- 16a. Stems matted together. growing in dense tufts, 1-2 m. tall.....Seabeach Grass, Panicum amarulum
(PNCAMR).
- 16b. Stems not matted together, mostly solitary, 30-100 cm. tall.....Smaller Seabeach Grass, Panicum amarum (PNCAM1).
- 15b. Green or but slightly whitened; upper sheaths shorter than internodes; rhizomes with close overlapping scales; grows in
big leafy clumps up to 2.1 m. tall; spikelets borne singly at tips of hair-like branches; grain hard, bony; inflorescence 5-50 cm., purple in flower, then tan.....Switch Grass, Panicum virgatum
(PNCVRG).
- 9b. Inflorescence full, oHen dense, pyramid-, diamond-, oval-, or oblong-shaped in silhouetle, flower scales overlap.
- 17a. Flower scales have awns or bristles.
- 18a. Flower scales fringed with long hairs; awn short; inflorescence, small, party concealed in uppermost leaf-sheath; often quite reddish late in season.....Sand Grass, Triplasis purpurea
(TRPPRP).
- 18b. Flower scales without hairy fringes.
- 19a. Awns bent and twisted, 2-3 mm. long; basal leaves short, curly; grows in tufts.....Oat Grass, Danthonia compressa
(DNTCMP).
- 19b. Awns or bristles not bent and twisted.
- 20a. Bristles short; grows in tufts up to 90 cm. tall; stem leaves rolled at the edge; basal leaves round. wiry, brown or red
or purple, becoming loosely flbrous or disintegrating into fibrous shreds away from base; no bulge at bases of leaves; inflorescence shape very variable.....Red Fescue, Festuca rubra
(FSTRBR).
- 20b. Awns long; stems solitary or in small tufts, up to 70 cm. tall; leaf sheaths smooth and overlapping; leaf-blades oflen rolled
at edges.....Fescue, Festuca sciurea/Vulpia elliotea
(FSTSCR).
- 17b. Flower scales without awns or bristles.
- 21a. Minute blister-like glands along keels of spikelets and flowering branches; strong musty odor when fresh; spike 10 cm. Iong; spikelets flattened, 2.5-3.5 mm. wide when mature.....Stinkgrass, Eragrostis cilianensis
(ERGCLN).
- 21b. Minute blister-like glands (as above) absent; no strong musty odor when fresh.
- 22a. Spike lance-cylindrical or somewhat oblong, conitnuous or interrupted; spikelets densely crowded on branches.
- 23a. Rhizomes extensively creeping; blades firm, flat at base, tapering into a long, flexuous, curved (crosswise) point;
stems stout, up to 1 m. tall; spike pale. narrow, flattened, heavy and nodding; flower branches drooping when mature.....Sea Oats, Uniola paniculata
(UNLPNC).
- 23b. Rhizomes absent or short and knotty.
- 24a. Individual grains very pointed at the tips, black; upper-most leaf-blade not always one-half to two-thirds as long
as its sheath; stems up to 1 m. tall, erect and nodding; loosely tufted base sometimes knotty; leaves thin, flat or slightly curved.....Spikegrass or Spanglegrass, Uniola laxa
(UNLLX1).
- 24b. Individual grains not very pointed at tips; uppermost leaf-blade one-half to two-thirds as long as is sheath;
stems up to 1 m. tall, tufted.....Wedgegrass, Sphenopholis obtusata
(SPHOBT).
- 24c. Individual grain pointedness intermediate between those above; uppermost leaf-blade not always one-
half to two-thirds as long as its sheath; plant to 75
cm. tall: stem often slightly bent at the nodes; leaves often rolled inward.....Alkali Grass, Puccinellia fasciculata
(PCCFSC).
- 22b. Spike pyramidal; mature spikelets linear- to oblong-lanceolate; leaves very soft, leaf sheaths loose; stems low and slender, sometimes rooting
at lower nodes, up to 50 cm. tall, but usually much smaller; grows in
tufts; leaf tips boat shaped.....Annual Bluegrass or Low Speargrass, Poa annua
(POAANN).
Return to:
Top of Subkey
Main
Plant Species Key
VCR Vegetation Database
VCR
Biodiversity Database
VCR Main Homepage