Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Panicum virgatum var. virgatum
FAMILY
Poaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Switchgrass from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Panicum virgatum var. virgatum
FAMILY
Poaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Panicum virgatum var. virgatum
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25 (2003)
Panicum virgatum
INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Panicum virgatum var. virgatum
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-81-006:
Panicum virgatum FAMILY Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Panicum virgatum var. virgatum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Panicum virgatum var. virgatum
COMMON NAME:
Switchgrass, Prairie Switchgrass
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm070310_009
March Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm060429_150
April Clay County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Tusquitee Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm0505q_10
May Williamsburg County SC
Leaves 20-60cm long and 8-15mm wide, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm0509b_32
September Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm200926_7449
September Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm220909_9818
September Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow s050904_b
September Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
The inflorescence is open and freely banched, spreading, pyramidal, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow s050904_c
September Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm071027_024
October Abbeville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm201015_7731
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm201015_7734
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm201015_7736
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm201015_7738
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
Scaly creeping rhizomes, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).
)
JK Marlow jkm201015_7740
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
Culms erect, tough and hard, 1-2 (rarely 3) meters tall, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).
)
JK Marlow jkm201017_7792
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm201017_7813
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
Spikelets 3.5-6mm long with the tip acuminate, per Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011).
)
JK Marlow jkm081102_120
November McCormick County SC
Sumter National Forest: Edgefield Ranger District
Panicle large and open, 15-50 cm long, per How to Know the Grasses: Pictured Key Nature Series (Pohl, 1954).
)
JK Marlow jkm081102_127
November McCormick County SC
Sumter National Forest: Edgefield Ranger District
Ligule ciliate or lacerate [torn, irregularly cleft or cut], 1-5mm long, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm081110_006
November Buncombe County NC
NC Arboretum
'Prairie Sky'.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Panicum virgatum var. virgatum
FAMILY
Poaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Panicum virgatum var. virgatum
FAMILY
Poaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Panicum virgatum var. virgatum
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25
Panicum virgatum
INCLUDED WITHIN
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Panicum virgatum var. virgatum
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-81-006:
Panicum virgatum
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Panicum virgatum var. virgatum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Panicum virgatum var. virgatum
1026
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial
Habitat: Dry or wet sandy soils of pinelands, fresh and brackish marshes, tidal swamps, interdune swales and ponds, riverside scour prairies, mafic fens, calcareous fens and spring marshes, rocky river shores and bars, and also frequently planted, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Coastal Plain & GA Piedmont (uncommon to rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate, 2-ranked (plants lacking a rosette of overwintering basal leaves)
RHIZOMES? STOLONS?
Rhizomatous
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Inflorescence a panicle
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Grain grayish
Grain
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p238
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p177
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p214
- Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950) p697
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p205
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p143
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p348
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p401
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p217
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