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
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Piptochaetium from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
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.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_stav_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_stav_002_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0403i_28
March Greenville County SC
)
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).
)
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).
)
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).
)
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).
)
JK Marlow jkm130406_943b
April Aiken County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm210406_9211
April Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
These culms are "swollen", almost ready to release their panicles.
)
JK Marlow jkm220409_6548
April Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm0505c_35
May Pickens County SC
Clemson Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm0505c_35b
May Pickens County SC
Clemson Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm0505h_02
May Greenville County SC
Field
)
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).
)
JK Marlow jkm090523_026
May Pickens County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm090523_026b
May Pickens County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm090523_026c
May Pickens County SC
)
JK Marlow s040505_b
May Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
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
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)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
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!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p244
- Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950) p450
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p413
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".