Field Key to VCR Plant Species
Subsection VIII. Sedges and Grasses with Round Stems and No Branching within the Inflorescence
- 1a. Inflorescence is conical; stems mainly solid (Sedges).
- 2a. Stems wiry with wiry basal leaves; plant 2.5-40 cm. tall; grows in clumps.....Hair Sedge, Bulbostylis capillaris
(BLBCPL).
- 2b. Stems green and leafless.
- 3a. Stems thin, wiry or hair-like.
- 4a. Inflorescence (spike) narrow, egg- or oval- (sometimes lance-)
shaped; stems usually making a turf no more than ankle high; sometimes underwater.
- 5a. Tiny underground tubers in summer and fall; spike greenish or brown; ripe seeds yellowish or brown.....Dwarf Spikerush, Eleocharis parvula (ELCPRV).
- 5b. Never with tubers; spike usually streaked whitish-and-red;
ripe seeds whitish; stems thinner than those of E parvula.....Slender Spikerush, Eleocharis acicularis
(ELCACC).
- 4b. Spike narrow, oblong-shaped; stems 4-angled; avg. height 30 cm.....Spikerush, Eleocharis tenuis
(ELCTNS).
- 3b. Stems stout, ankle- to shoulder-high; spikes yellowish, brown, reddish-
streaked, or dark red; ripe seeds yellowish to dark brown, biconvex in
end view.
- 6a. Spike lance-shaped with rounded point.....Marsh Spikerush, Eleocharis palustris
(ELCPLS).
- 6b. Spike lance-shaped or rarely oval.....Spikerush, Eleocharis erythopoda/calva
(ELCERY).
- 1b. Inflorescence is more-or-less cylindrical.
- 7a. Inflorescence bristly in silhouette; stems jointed, hollow between joints (Grasses).
- 8a. Spikelets of inflorescence densely packed.
- 9a. Inflorescence round in x-section.
- 10a. Inflorescence large/small flexible with many short coarse/fine hairs (will wiggle like a woolly bear caterpillar if squeezed
through your hand); stems erect and hollow; leaves long, tapering, mostly flat.
- 11a. Stems waist-high to twice as tall as a man; leaves to 60 cm. long and 4 cm. wide.....Giant Foxtail, Setaria magna
(STRMGN).
- 11b. Stems up to knee-high.
- 12a. Erect from a base that does not trail, though often has knee-like bends; leaves to 20 cm. Iong and 6 mm.
wide, mostly overlapping below middle of stem.....Little Foxtail, Setaria geniculata
(STRGNC).
- l2b. Erect from a trailing base; usually tufted; leaves rough.....Rabbitfoot Grass, Polypogon monspeliensis
(PLYMNS).
- 10b. Inflorescence chubby; stems sprawling, not erect; forms
dense mats; often grows with Spartina patens in salt marshes.....Salt Grass, Distichlis spicata
(DSTSPC).
- 9b. Inflorescence angular in x-section, stiff, upright; spike with straight
stiff bristles and hard texture.....WiId Rye Grass, Elymus virginicus
(ELYVRG).
- 8b. Spikelets of inflorescence distant, spike loose and open; spike avg. 15 cm.
Iong; grass avg. 40 cm. tall.....Dune Three-awn Grass, Aristida tuberculosa
(ARSTBR).
- 7b. Inflorescence not bristly in silhouette.
- 13a. Spike with distinct upper and lower portions, staminate and pistillate.
respectively (the following are in the Canail family).
- 14a. Upper and lower portions of spike touch each other; leaves bluish- or grayish-green, nearly flat, up to 2.5 cm. wide; mature spike about 2.5 cm.
in diameter.....Common Cattail, Typha latifolia
(TYPLTF).
- 14b. Upper and lower portions of spike usually separated by distinct gap;
leaves green, rounded on the back, not over 1.3 cm. wide; mature spike
about 1.3 cm. in diameter.....Narrow-leaved Cattail, Typha angustifolia
(TYPAGS).
- 13b. Spike not distinctly differentiated; stem jointed,
hollow between joints (Grasses).
- 1c. Inflorescence otherwise; stems jointed, hollow between joints (Grasses).
- 16a. Inflorescence is a leafy broom-shaped clump at the top of the stem; silvery
white hairs surround flowers of a tan yellow color.....Broom Sedge, Andropogon virginicus var. abbreviatus
(ANDVR1).
- 16b. Inflorescence is irregular; flower clusters are horribly spiny (sharp and
painful to touch); plant is usually low to the ground.....Sandspur, Cenchrus tribuloides
(CNCTRB).
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