NameThatPlant.net: Dichanthelium annulum

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

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

Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.

The common name refers to the densely hairy ring or "beard" of white hairs at the stem nodes. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.

INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Dichanthelium dichotomum FAMILY Poaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25 (2003)

Dichanthelium dichotomum ssp. mattamuskeetense

SYNONYMOUS WITH Taxonomy of the Dichotoma group of Dichanthelium (Poaceae) (LeBlond, 2001)

Dichanthelium annulum

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 annulum

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

Panicum annulum

COMMON NAME:
Ringed Witchgrass

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

image of Dichanthelium annulum, Ringed Witchgrass

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_paan10_001_lvd

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_paan10_002_lhd

Bruce A. Sorrie bas_dich_annulum1

August Stanly County NC

Tends to be a low-growing, rather spreading plant, not bolt-upright, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.

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

INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Dichanthelium dichotomum FAMILY Poaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25
Dichanthelium dichotomum ssp. mattamuskeetense

SYNONYMOUS WITH Taxonomy of the Dichotoma group of Dichanthelium (Poaceae) (LeBlond, 2001)
Dichanthelium annulum

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 annulum

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

3904

Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial

Habitat: Dry sandy or rocky soil of open woods, dry grasslands, and barrens, and glades over serpentine, limestone, calcareous shales, and other high pH dry soils, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Uncommon in NC Piedmont (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)

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
Alternate, 2-ranked, and often a basal rosette of overwintering leaves

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall

Early-season ("spring") panicles terminal; later "autumnal" panicles are lateral

FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Grain

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

Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950) p651

"The following chronological synopsis of flora accounts of Microstegium is perhaps instructive: not treated by Small (1933), 'local' (Fernald 1950), 'rarely introduced and possibly not established' (Gleason & Cronquist 1952), 'sporadically naturalized' (Godfrey & Wooten 1979), 'a rapidly spreading pernicious invader on moist ground, too common' (Wofford 1989)... This species has become a very serious pest, now ranking as one of the most destructive introduced plants in our area, forming extensive and dense patches, sprawling over and eliminating nearly all other herbaceous plants. Eradication is very difficult, and considering its obvious colonizing abilities, only temporary." — Alan Weakley, Weakley's Flora

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