Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Aira caryophyllea
FAMILY
Poaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Aira from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Aira caryophyllea var. caryophyllea
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Aira caryophyllea var. caryophyllea
SYNONYMOUS WITH Tennessee Flora Committee (2015)
Aira caryophyllea var. caryophyllea
SYNONYMOUS WITH (MISSPELLED) Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Aira caryophyllaea
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 24 (2007)
Aira caryophyllea var. caryophyllea
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Aira caryophyllea
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-35-001:
Aira caryophyllea FAMILY Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Aira caryophyllea
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Aspris caryophyllea
COMMON NAME:
Silver Hairgrass
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_aica_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_asca22_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm200505_4598
May Spartanburg County SC
Pedicels usually 1-2× as long as the spikelets (vs. 2-8× in A. elegans), per Weakley's Flora (2020).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Aira caryophyllea
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Aira caryophyllea var. caryophyllea
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Aira caryophyllea var. caryophyllea
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Tennessee Flora Committee (2015)
Aira caryophyllea var. caryophyllea
SYNONYMOUS WITH (MISSPELLED)
Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Aira caryophyllaea
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 24
Aira caryophyllea var. caryophyllea
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Aira caryophyllea
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-35-001:
Aira caryophyllea
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Aira caryophyllea
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Aspris caryophyllea
4331
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Annual
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Europe
Common in Carolina Piedmont & NC Coastal Plain (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
Low alternate, 2-ranked
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Inflorescence a delicate, diffuse panicle
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Grain ivory-colored
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".