OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Piptochaetium avenaceum   FAMILY Poaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Piptochaetium avenaceum   FAMILY Poaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Piptochaetium avenaceum

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 24 (2007)

Piptochaetium avenaceum

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-37-001:

Stipa avenacea   FAMILY Poaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)

Stipa avenacea

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Stipa avenacea

 

COMMON NAME:
Green Needlegrass, Blackseed Needlegrass, Eastern Needlegrass, Black Oatgrass


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Piptochaetium avenaceum, Green Needlegrass, Blackseed Needlegrass, Eastern Needlegrass, Black Oatgrass

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_stav_001_lvd

        

image of Piptochaetium avenaceum, Green Needlegrass, Blackseed Needlegrass, Eastern Needlegrass, Black Oatgrass

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950    pnd_stav_002_lvd

        

image of Piptochaetium avenaceum, Green Needlegrass, Blackseed Needlegrass, Eastern Needlegrass, Black Oatgrass

JK Marlow    jkm0403i_28

March    Greenville County    SC

image of Piptochaetium avenaceum, Green Needlegrass, Blackseed Needlegrass, Eastern Needlegrass, Black Oatgrass

JK Marlow    jkm0404w_27

April    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

Panicle open and 10-15cm long, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).

image of Piptochaetium avenaceum, Green Needlegrass, Blackseed Needlegrass, Eastern Needlegrass, Black Oatgrass

JK Marlow    jkm0404zc_23

April    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

Each floret has an outer bract (lemma) & inner bract (palea) & naked flower, per How to Know the Grasses: Pictured Key Nature Series (Pohl, 1954).

image of Piptochaetium avenaceum, Green Needlegrass, Blackseed Needlegrass, Eastern Needlegrass, Black Oatgrass

JK Marlow    jkm0404zc_26

April    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

Panicle's slender branches 2-4cm long, each bearing 1 or 2 spikelets, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).

image of Piptochaetium avenaceum, Green Needlegrass, Blackseed Needlegrass, Eastern Needlegrass, Black Oatgrass

JK Marlow    jkm0504b_05

April    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

Blades 20-30cm long, 1mm wide, flat or involute, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).

image of Piptochaetium avenaceum, Green Needlegrass, Blackseed Needlegrass, Eastern Needlegrass, Black Oatgrass

JK Marlow    jkm130406_943b

April    Aiken County    SC

image of Piptochaetium avenaceum, Green Needlegrass, Blackseed Needlegrass, Eastern Needlegrass, Black Oatgrass

JK Marlow    jkm210406_9211

April    Greenville County    SC

Blackwell Heritage Preserve

These culms are "swollen", almost ready to release their panicles.

image of Piptochaetium avenaceum, Green Needlegrass, Blackseed Needlegrass, Eastern Needlegrass, Black Oatgrass

JK Marlow    jkm220409_6548

April    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

image of Piptochaetium avenaceum, Green Needlegrass, Blackseed Needlegrass, Eastern Needlegrass, Black Oatgrass

JK Marlow    jkm0505c_35

May    Pickens County    SC

Clemson Forest

image of Piptochaetium avenaceum, Green Needlegrass, Blackseed Needlegrass, Eastern Needlegrass, Black Oatgrass

JK Marlow    jkm0505c_35b

May    Pickens County    SC

Clemson Forest

image of Piptochaetium avenaceum, Green Needlegrass, Blackseed Needlegrass, Eastern Needlegrass, Black Oatgrass

JK Marlow    jkm0505h_02

May    Greenville County    SC

Field

image of Piptochaetium avenaceum, Green Needlegrass, Blackseed Needlegrass, Eastern Needlegrass, Black Oatgrass

JK Marlow    jkm070520_038

May    Greenville County    SC

Glumes 1.5cm long; lemma dark brown, 9-10mm long; awn 4.5-6cm long, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).

image of Piptochaetium avenaceum, Green Needlegrass, Blackseed Needlegrass, Eastern Needlegrass, Black Oatgrass

JK Marlow    jkm090523_026

May    Pickens County    SC

image of Piptochaetium avenaceum, Green Needlegrass, Blackseed Needlegrass, Eastern Needlegrass, Black Oatgrass

JK Marlow    jkm090523_026b

May    Pickens County    SC

image of Piptochaetium avenaceum, Green Needlegrass, Blackseed Needlegrass, Eastern Needlegrass, Black Oatgrass

JK Marlow    jkm090523_026c

May    Pickens County    SC

image of Piptochaetium avenaceum, Green Needlegrass, Blackseed Needlegrass, Eastern Needlegrass, Black Oatgrass

JK Marlow    s040505_b

May    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

image of Piptochaetium avenaceum, Green Needlegrass, Blackseed Needlegrass, Eastern Needlegrass, Black Oatgrass

JK Marlow    s040525_b

May    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

Awns twisted, 4-6 cm long, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Piptochaetium avenaceum   FAMILY Poaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Piptochaetium avenaceum   FAMILY Poaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Piptochaetium avenaceum

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 24
Piptochaetium avenaceum

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-37-001:
Stipa avenacea   FAMILY Poaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Stipa avenacea

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Stipa avenacea

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1468

Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial

Habitat: Upland woodlands and forests, sometimes abundant or even dominant in xeric woodlands over granitic or mafic rocks in the Piedmont, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common (uncommon in Mountains)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)

LEAVES:
Simple
Basal

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Lemmas brownish to purplish

Inflorescence a panicle

FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Grain yellowish
Grain

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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