Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Dichanthelium caerulescens
FAMILY
Poaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Once learned, this is a highly distinct witchgrass. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Dichanthelium dichotomum var. dichotomum
FAMILY
Poaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25 (2003)
Dichanthelium dichotomum ssp. roanokense
SYNONYMOUS WITH Taxonomy of the Dichotoma group of Dichanthelium (Poaceae) (LeBlond, 2001)
Dichanthelium caerulescens
INCLUDED WITHIN New combinations for Panicum ... (Poaceae) of the southeast US (Lelong, 1984)
Panicum dichotomum var. roanokense
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-81-045?:
Panicum dichotomum FAMILY Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Panicum caerulescens
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Panicum caerulescens
COMMON NAME:
Blue Witchgrass
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_paca20_001_lhd
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Bruce A. Sorrie bas_dich_caerulescens7
May Dare County NC
Vernal panicle 3-7cm long; spikelets obovoid, turgid, glabrous, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).
)
Bruce A. Sorrie bas_dich_caerulescens1
June Dare County NC
Mature vernal panicles usually short-exserted with ascending branches, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
)
Bruce A. Sorrie bas_dich_caerulescens5
September Dare County NC
Autumnal phase w short densely fascicled branches at middle & upper nodes, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Dichanthelium caerulescens
FAMILY
Poaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Dichanthelium dichotomum var. dichotomum
FAMILY
Poaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25
Dichanthelium dichotomum ssp. roanokense
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Taxonomy of the Dichotoma group of Dichanthelium (Poaceae) (LeBlond, 2001)
Dichanthelium caerulescens
INCLUDED WITHIN
New combinations for Panicum ... (Poaceae) of the southeast US (Lelong, 1984)
Panicum dichotomum var. roanokense
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-81-045?:
Panicum dichotomum
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Panicum caerulescens
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Panicum caerulescens
3905
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial
Habitat: marshes, swamps, wet pine savannas, maritime wet grasslands, inner-dune depression meadows and swales, coastal prairies, damp sandy soil, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas
Uncommon in NC, rare in SC
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate, 2-ranked, and often a basal rosette of overwintering leaves
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Early-season ("spring") panicles terminal; later "autumnal" panicles are lateral
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Grain
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".