Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Sporobolus clandestinus
FAMILY
Poaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Easy to overlook, Rough Dropseed looks like a slender stick 2-4' tall. The relatively few leaves are narrow and about a foot long, often browned by flowering time. The narrow inflorescence is usually only partly exposed, thus the Latin name, and 3-5 inches long. Learn more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
While S. clandestinus and S. compositus are undoubtedly closely related, I prefer to retain the two as species, per Weakley's Flora (2023).
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sporobolus clandestinus
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Sporobolus clandestinus
SYNONYMOUS WITH Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida (Wunderlin & Hansen, 2011)
Sporobolus compositus var. clandestinus
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25 (2003)
Sporobolus clandestinus
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Sporobolus clandestinus
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-44-007:
Sporobolus clandestinus FAMILY Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Sporobolus clandestinus
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sporobolus clandestinus
COMMON NAME:
Rough Dropseed
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_spcl_001_lvd
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_spcl_002_lvd
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JK Marlow jkm061112_031
November Union County SC
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JK Marlow jkm061112_058062
November Union County SC
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JK Marlow jkm081102_023
November Columbia County GA
S. clandestinus and S. compositus are closely related, per Weakley's Flora (2020).
)
JK Marlow jkm081102_031
November Columbia County GA
Panicle narrow, contracted, 5-10cm long, usually partly enclosed, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).
COMPARE
seedheads of Sporobolus species
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JK Marlow jkm081102_034
November Columbia County GA
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JK Marlow jkm081102_080
November Columbia County GA
Spikelets 4-8mm. Lemma pubescent, usually conspicuously shorter than palea, per Weakley's Flora (2020).
)
JK Marlow jkm081102_083
November Columbia County GA
There is a ribbon-like, on-again-off-again, appearance to the herbage.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Sporobolus clandestinus
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sporobolus clandestinus
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Sporobolus clandestinus
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida (Wunderlin & Hansen, 2011)
Sporobolus compositus var. clandestinus
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25
Sporobolus clandestinus
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Sporobolus clandestinus
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-44-007:
Sporobolus clandestinus
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Sporobolus clandestinus
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sporobolus clandestinus
2456
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial
Habitat: Glades, barrens, and thin soil of woodlands, also in dry sands and pine rocklands, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon (rare in Mountains)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal & alternate, not 2-ranked
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Panicle usually purplish
Inflorescence a spikelike panicle
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Grain yellowish
Utricle
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".