Southern Forest

Experiment Station

New Orieans,

Low3iarla

Harold E. Grelen and Mph H. Hughes
ACMNCWLEDGEMEWI’

As this handbook is essentially a revision of the Forest Service Research

Paper SO-23, “Common plants of longleaf pine-bluestem ranges,” (Grelen and

Duvall 1966) and much of that information is repeated here, the authors are

indebted to Vinson L. Duvall, U.S. Forest Service, retired, and to all those who

helped with the previous book. About a dozen Federal and State biologists ano

ecologists from selected areas of the South assisted in expanding the list of

plants to be included in this book.

A. W. (Al) Johnson, now retired from the U.S. Forest. Service, assisted with

the earlier book and provided numerous plant collections and photographs for

use by the illustrator in this revision. Bryan A. Jowers, of the Louisiana Coilege Department of Art, drew all illustrations of plants added in this revision.

Drs. Charles M. Allen and R. Dale Thomas, plant taxonomists at Louisiana

State University at Eunice and Northeast Louisiana University, respectively,

reviewed the manuscript and made valuabie suggestions regarding plant uses,

common names and closely related species.
CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .....................................................

GRASSES ..................................................................

Bluestems ...............................................................

Panicum Grasses ...................................................

Paspalum Grasses ..................................................

Miscellaneous Grasses ...........................................

GRASSLIKE PLANTS ...........................................

FORBS .......................................................................

Legumes .................................................................

Composites .............................................................

Miscellaneous Forbs ..............................................

BIBLIOGRAPHY .....................................................

1

2

2

14

30

36

60

73

73

90

118

136

GLOSSARY ............................................................... 138

INDEX OF PLANT NAMES ...............................142

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ml Upland hard wood-bluestem

Marsh and prairie

Bottomland hardwoods

Range Types of the South.
Common Herbaceous Plants of

Southern Forest Range

Harold E. Grelen and Ralph H. Hughes

INTRODUCTION

This handbook describes and illustrates selected

grasses, grasslike plants, and forbs found on pine or

pine-hardwood sites from east Texas to Virginia.

Some, like little bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium,

are valuable forage plants Southwide. Others, such as

Nuttall wildindigo, Baptisia nuttallianu, are worthless weeds.

An earlier publication, “Common Plants of Longleaf PineBluestem Range,” (Grelen and Duvalll966),

dealt with plants common to the longleaf-slash pine

bluestem range type from east Texas to south Alabama and the northern part of the Florida panhandle.

In addition to the herbaceous plants from the previous publication, this book includes plants from the

longleaf-slash pinewiregrass type of Florida, south

Georgia, and the Carolinas and the southwide loblolly-shortleaf pine-hardwood type (see map). Many

plants are found in all three types. Range types coincide with timber types (USDA 1,969) except that the

longleaf-slash pine forest type is divided into the

longleaf-slash pine-bluestem and the longleaf-slash

pinewiregrass range types. Resources of the range

types included in this publication, as well as others

indicated on the type maps, are discussed in “Range

Resources of the South” (Southern Section SRM

1974). Woody plants were omitted from this revision

because there are now several books illustrating and

describing southern trees, shrubs, and woody vines,

including the wildlife food values of such plants (Dean

1968, HalIs 1977, Halls and Ripley 1961, Oefinger

and Halls 1974).

Plants are described in general terms with clues for

identification and separation from a closely related

plant or one with similar appearance, where appropriate. Forage value for livestock and wildlife, a technical description, and geographic range are also given.

Plant nomenclature generally follows that of the

“National List of Scientific Plant Names” (USDA

1982). Common names were gleaned from checklists

or other publications (Wolff 1954; Gould 1969; Hilmon 1964; Leithead, Yarlett, and Shiflet 1971).

“Standardized Plant Names” (Kelsey and Dayton

1942) was also consulted, and at least one name was

coined by the authors.

Scientific names following the title of each plant

description are those indicated as preferred in the

“National List of Scientific Plant Names.” Names in

parenthesis following the preferred name may be

more familiar and most are valid synonyms. Preferred scientific names elsewhere in the text may be

followed by a synonym in parenthesis.

Metric measurements are used in the technical section of each species description and in the illustrations. In the general section, intended for the nonbotanist, English measurements are used. The habit

silhouettes show both metric and English scales.

-

Harold E. Grelen is Range Scientist, Southern Forest Experiment Station, Forest Service-USDA, Pineville, LA. Ralph H. Hughes is Range

Scientist (retired), Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, Forest Service-USDA, Fort Myers, FL.

1
GRASSES

The native grasses of the South vary widely in size,

habit, environmental adaptability, and usefulness.

Except for the woody bamboos, all species are annual

or perennial herbs. Height varies from a few inches to

25 feet. Bunch grasses predominate, but many

grasses creep by rhizomes or stolons. Despite these

variations, many vegetative characters are relatively

constant for all grasses. Stems are typically hollow,

though occasionally solid, with prominent joints or

nodes. Leaves, arising alternately from the nodes in

two ranks, are elongate; although some are not much

more than 1 inch long, width is never more than one

third the length. Leaf margins and veins are approximately parallel. The part of the leaf that clasps the

stem is the sheath, and in most grasses the edges are

not fused and the sheath is said to be open. The upper

or free portion of the leaf is called the blade. The juncture of the sheath and blade on the outer surface is

termed the collar. Many grasses have a lfgule (a

membranous scale or fringe of hairs) at this juncture

on the inner surface. Although these features are

usually enough to distinguish grasses from other

plants, it is sometimes difficult to differentiate

between plants of the grass family, Gramineae, and

the closely related sedge and rush families, Cyperaceae and Juncaceae.

Hitchcock (1950) numbered the grasses in the

United States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii, at 185

genera and 1,518 species. Fernald (1950) indicated

110 genera with 487 species for the central and northeastern regions of the U.S. Louisiana has 99 genera

and 328 species (Allen 1980). Ward (1968) lists 101

genera and 423 species for Florida. Thus, approximately half of the grass genera found in the nation

are represented in the South.

BbStX?mS--Andropogonspp., Schizachyrium spp., and Bathriochloa spp.

The bluestems, known also as “beardgrasses” or

“sagegrasses,” are the most valuable native forage

grasses in the South. They usually furnish more than

half the forage for range cattle. All bluestems were

included in the single genus Andropogon by Hitchcock (1950), although he divided his generic key into

sections corresponding to genera of earlier authors.

Gould (1967) revised the genus Andropogon, recognizing as genera the subgenera Schizachyrium and

Bothriochba as well as Andropogon. Several recent

taxonomic manuals (Correll and Johnston 1970, Godfrey and Wooten 1979, Allen 1980) and the “National

List of Scientific Plant Names” (USDA 1982) have

adopted Gould’s revision.

No species of Bothriochloa was considered common enough in the South to be included in this book.

Silver bluestem, Bothriochloa saccharoides (Swartz)

Rydb., is found occasionally in Louisiana and as far

east as Alabama.

Southern bluestems are mainly bunch grasses.

Heights range from about 1 foot in fineleaf bluestem

to more than 6 feet in big bluestem. Little bluestem

and slender bluestem are the main forage species on

most longleaf pine-bluestem sites, and creeping bluestern is important on longleaf pinewiregrass sites of

Florida and Georgia. Bushy bluestem often forms

extensive stands on soils too wet for upland species.

Most species do not flower until late summer or

fall; hence, identification during much of the year

must be from vegetative characters. Culms are solid,

while those of most grasses are hollow. Tufts generally spread by tillering, but a few species, e.g., pinehill

bluestem and big bluestem, may be rhizomatous.

Inflorescences consist of several to many hairy

racemes (spikelike panicle branches); these often protrude from a spathelike sheath at maturity. Fertile

spikelets usually terminate in a twisted or bent awn.

Old seed stalks, which commonly persist well into the

growing season, may aid identification.
Chalky Bluestem-Andropogon capillipes Nash-(A. virginicus var. glaucus Hack.)

Chalky bluestem is one of the most palatable

grasses available to cattle on flatwoods sites in central and south Florida. It grows in small clumps with

seed stalks to 3 feet tall. Leaves and seed stalks are

conspicuously glaucous (chalky), providing the plant

its main distinguishing feature. Its inflorescence is

almost identical to that of broomsedge bluestem.

Chalky broomsedge, Andropogon virginicus var.

ghcopsis (Ell.) Hitchc., grows throughout the range

of chalky bluestem and westward to Louisiana, and

both chalky grasses grow best on wetter sites than

those usually associated with broomsedge. All three

have flattened lower sheaths and nearly identical

inflorescences. Taxonomic relationships between

these closely related grasses, as indicated in various

taxonomic manuals, are not consistent. Radford and

others (1968) inclupes A. capillipes withA. virginicus.

Godfrey and Wooten (1979) list chalky broomsedge

as A. gkzucopsis (Ell.) Nash, indicating in a key that it

has a tufted ring of white hairs .below each spathe of

the inflorescence, which is absent in A. capillipes.

Femald (1950) lists chalky bluestem as A. virginicus

var. ghucus Hack.

Flower stalks do not appear until September or

October. Stalks and foliage provide excellent roughage for winter grazing.

Range: Florida to southern North Carolina.

Perennial. Cuhns slender, tufted, erect, to 1 m tall,

glaucous, glabrous; sheaths crowded at base, keeled;

blades to 60 cm long, 2 - 4 mm wide; ligule a ciliate

membrane about 0.5 mm long; inflorescence narrow

but loose; spathes purplish, glabrous, dilated,

2.0 - 3.5 cm long; racemes two, 1.0 - 2.5 cm long; sessile spikelet about 3 mm long, almost equaling pedicel

of sterile spikelet, pedicel and rachis copiously longvillous; awn of sessile spikelet about 1 cm long.
Elliott Bluestem-Andropogon elliottii Chapm.

Elliott bluestem, although among the least abundant southern bluestems, is one of the most conspicuous. Toward maturity the large, inflated spathes that

sheathe the inflorescence give the plants a top-heavy

appearance. Inner surfaces of these spathes are cop

per colored, smooth, and shining. On old fields and

overgrazed range, Elliott bluestem may form almost

pure stands, but generally is widely scattered among

other grasses. While it tolerates a wide range of sites,

it is most common on dry sandy soils. Typical plants

are 2 to 3 feet tall with leaves about 12 inches long

and L/s inch wide. The crowded spathes, with paired

silky racemes either exserted or partially enclosed,

are reliable identification features. Dead stalks, with

spathes attached, often persist through the winter.

The only grass easily confused with Elliott bluestern is fineleaf bluestem. Typical fineleaf bluestem is

not more than 2 feet tall with leaves less than %I inch

wide. Although fineleaf bluestem is often found on

poorly drained soils, the two species intergrade and

are often found on the same site. Intergrades not fitting the characteristics of typical Elliott bluestem are

usually considered to be fineleaf. Allen (1980), however, includes Andropogon subtenuis as a synonym

under A. elliottii. Although both are common, neither

contributes much forage to the diet of grazing animals.

Range: Coastal Plain, Texas to New Jersey.

Perennial. Culms 30 - 80 cm tall, in tufts, erect, simple at first, later branching toward the summit;

sheaths shorter than the internodes, keeled, narrow,

glabrous to loosely pilose; ligule short, a rounded

membrane less than 1 mm long; blades to 50 cm long,

flat, keeled, 1 - 7 mm wide, glabrous to pilose, droop

ing and curling on drying; racemes 3 - 5 cm long,

paired, or rarely in threes or fours, the early ones

long-exserted on flexuous peduncles from slender,

inconspicuous spathes, the late ones in dense clusters

on short peduncles within broad, green, purplish, or

coppery spathes; sessile spikelet 4 - 5 mm long, the

awn loosely twisted, 10 - 25 mm long; pedicellate spikelet rudimentary, the slender rachis joints and pedieels long white-villous.

\

Spi&eleet

4
Big Bluestem-Andropogon gerardii Vitm.

Big bluestem is the largest native bluestem in the

United States, often reaching 6 feet or more in height.

Although plants spread by short rhizomes, bases are

often densely tufted, as in the true bunch grasses.The

broad, mostly basal leaves vary from very sparsely to

densely hairy. Basal shoots are usually flattened.

Thick, purplish racemes are 2 to 4 inches long and

generally in twos or threes. They diverge toward the

tips forming a bird-foot-like inflorescence that distinguishes big bluestem from all other southern grasses,

and gives it another widely known name, “turkeyfoot.” Identification may be difficult during much of

the growing season, however, for flowers rarely

appear before late summer. Because palatability is

high, cattle often graze the plants closely, delaying or

preventing seedstalk development.

Without seed heads, big bluestem resembles Florida paspalum, but the two can usually be distinguished by vegetative characters. In big bluestem,

leaf blades narrow slightly near the collar, widening

gradually toward the midsection; the lower one-third

to one-half of the blade width in Florida paspalum is

relatively constant. The inner surface of the big bluestem sheath is brownish to bronze, corresponding in

color to the ligule, while that of Florida paspalum is

green.

Because of its high yield and palatability, big

bluestem is one of the four most important native

forage grasses of the North American tallgrass prairie region. Others are little bluestem, indiangrass,

and switchgrass (Gould 1975). On southern forest

range, however, it is, generally too scarce on most

sites to contribute much forage. Because it is usually

overgrazed when range stocking is based on the

proper use of other bluestems, its presence on grazed

range indicates lighter than average use.

Range: All of United States east of Idaho and

Nevada.

Perennial. Culms stout, solid, 1 - 2 m tall, sparingly

branched toward the summit; sheaths glabrous or villous, wider than the blade, green or purplish, sometimes glaucous; ligule membranous, 1 - 4 mm long,

with or without a fringed margin; blades flat, elongate, 20 - 60 cm long, 4 - 12 mm wide, with scabrous

margins and pale midveins wide and prominent near

the ligules, tuft of hairs up to 1 cm long behind ligule

or only short scattered hairs; racemes mainly in twos

and threes, but up to six or more on long-exserted

terminal peduncles, 5 - 12 cm long, green, yellowish

or purplish, often glaucous; sessile spikelet perfect,

7 - 10 mm long, usually scabrous, the 1 - 2 cm long

awn tightly twisted and bent; pediceliate spikelet not

reduced, staminate, awnless. Rootstock
Bushy Bluestem-Andropogon glomeratus (Walt.) BSP.-fAndropogon uirginicus var. abbreuiatus (Hack.)

Fern. & Grist.)

Bushy bluestem, a stout bunchgrass 2 to 5 feet

tall, occurs on low wet sites, ditchbanks, pond margins, marshes, and swamps. The inflorescence is a

large, dense bundle of silky racemes with leafy

spathes interspersed. Density of the seed head is due

to its drastically shortened branches and internodes.

Each of the many branches bears two racemes, the

pair subtended by a spathe. Mature racemes are free

from the spathes and equal to them in length. Individual spikelets are almost identical to those of

broomsedge, and a recent plant manual included

bushy bluestem under broomsedge (Radford and others 1968). Others have accepted the varietal name

under broomsedge (Fernald 1950, Godfrey and Wooten 1979). The two grasses are distinct and consistent

in appearance and probably deserve recognition as

separate species.

Bushy bluestem is not considered a valuable forage

plant on pine ranges as it occurs on sites not generally

grazed.

Range: Southern California and Nevada, extending east to Florida, Kentucky, and Massachusetts.

Perennial Cubns erect, stout, to 8 mm thick, 50 - 150

cm tail, compressed, bushy-branching above; sheaths

longer than the internodes, flattened, rough, often

pubescent in the throat, ciliate on the margins: ligule

membranous, about 1 mm long, with a truncate, fimbriate margin; inflorescence dense, composed of a

mass of slightly dilated spathes; racemes paired, 1 - 3

cm long from spathes of about the same length; sessile spikelet 3 - 4 mm long, the awn straight, 1.0 - 1.5

cm long; pedicellate spikelet reduced to a single subulate glume or absent, its pedicel and the rachis joint

silky-villous and about the same length as the sessile

spikelet.

Young plant5

6
Hairy Bluestem-Andropogon longiberbis Hack.

Hairy bluestem is closely related to broomsedge

bluestem, but is generally more hairy, especially the

seed heads. Lower leaf sheaths and blades are often

woolly with silvery hairs and are not strongly flattened like those of broomsedge.

It is most important in south Florida, where it is

abundant on flat, sandy-slough sites, which are covered with shallow slow-moving water during the wet

summer season. These sites are usually grazed heavily during late winter and early spring following a

burn. Leaves and emerging flower stalks are eaten by

cattle from February through June.

A similar grass, Andropogon tracyi Nash, grows

within the range of hairy bluestem and also extends

along the Gulf Coastal Plain to Louisiana. Foliage is

generally less hairy than that of A. longiberbis, and

the stalk (peduncle) supporting each pair of racemes

is from ?4 to 1% inch long; peduncles of A. longiberbis

are less than % inch long.

Range: Georgia and Florida.

Perennial. Culms to 1 m tall, glabrous; lower sheaths

gray-villous, upper glabrous; blades 2 - 5 mm wide,

elongate, lower blades densely grayish-villous ventrally, greenish and sparsely villous dorsally; racemes

two to four, 2 - 3 cm long, densely villous; peduncle

less than 1 cm; spathe 3 - 5 cm long, enclosing peduncle and bases of racemes, light brown at maturity;

sessile spikelet 3 mm long; awn straight, about 1 cm

long.
Fineleaf Bluestem-Andropogon subtenuis Nash

Fineleaf bluestem is among the smallest southern

bluestems. It is fairly common and widely distributed, but its small size and narrow leaves make it

relatively inconspicuous. It occupies a variety of

sites, but grows best on well-drained ridges, mounds,

and slopes. On cutover areas it may comprise 25 percent of the grass stand, but generally much less. Like

slender bluestem, it tolerates heavier grazing than

taller, broad-leaved grasses.

Mature plants are 16 to 28 inches tall and leaves

are less than % inch wide. Lower leaf sheaths are laterally flattened, as in many bluestems. Foliage is similar to that of slender ‘bluestem. Under a hand lens,

fineleaf bluestem is distinguishable by its pointed

ligule, the ligule of slender bluestem being short and

blunt.

Seed heads are borne in slender, slightly inflated

spathes, with at least some of the slender, silky

racemes protruding. Seed heads may be confused

with those of Elliott bluestem, which intergrades

with fineleaf bluestem. Spathes of Elliott bluestem

are distinctly inflated; they are also longer, more

numerous, and more closely crowded.

In forage quality, fineleaf bluestem is similar to

slender bluestem, with which it can be easily confused

when both grasses are grazed short. Of the two, fine

leaf bluestem matures later and is more palatable in

summer.

Range: Louisiana to northern Florida.

Perennial. Culms erect, in small tufts, very slender,

somewhat compressed, 40- 70 cm tall, sparingly

branched above; sheaths keeled, wider than the blade,

generally glabrous, but occasionally densely long-villous; ligule 0.5 - 1.0 mm long, sharply pointed; blades

1.5 - 2.0 mm wide, flat or folded, scabrous, generally

with long scattered hairs on the margins near the ligule, occasionally densely long-villous; racemes two,

2 - 3 cm long, flexuous, from slightly inflated spathes

rarely over 7 - 10 cm long; sessile spikelet about 4

mm long; pedicellate spikelet reduced to a tiny scale

on a pedicel much longer than the sessile spikelet.
Paintbrush Bluestem-Andnpgon temarius Michx.

Paintbrush or “splitbeard” bluestem is a common

associate of little bluestem, especially on well-drained

sandy sites. The two grasses resemble each other

until flower heads emerge in early fall. Racemes of

paintbrush bluestem are paired. They are silky and

much thicker and showier than those of little blue

stem, which has only one raceme terminating each

inflorescence branch.

Persistent old seedstalks are the best character for

distinguishing paintbrush bluestem during winter,

spring, and summer. A conspicuous paintbrushlike

tuft of hairs remains on the branch tips after racemes

shatter, and old-growth basal leaves are curly.

Paintbrush bluestem is similar in forage value to

little bluestem. Because it is seldom abundant, however, it contributes little to the cattle diet.

Range: Coastal Plain, Delaware to Texas, extending inland on dry sandy soils to Kentucky and Kansas.

Perennial. Culms in tufts, 80 - 120 cm tall, simple

below and much branched above; sheaths shorter

than the internodes, glabrous to densely hirsute near

the base; ligule about 1 mm long, membranous;

blades 2 - 4 mm wide, the lower long and curling on

drying; racemes in pairs, occasionally in threes, 3 - 6

cm long, silvery-silky, with long hairs, more or less

exserted on long slender peduncles from slender

spathes; sessile spikelet 5 - 6 mm long, the twisted

and bent awn 1.5 - 2.0 cm long; pedicellate spikeleta

scabrous scale about 1 mm long on a densely villous

pedicel almost as long as the sessile spikelet.

PERSISTENT

PAINTDRUM TIP
Broomsedge Bluestem-Andropogon uirginicus L.

Broomsedge bluestem-usually called broomsedge

-is a coarse, practically hairless bunchgrass about 3

feet tall. It is one of the most common grasses in the

South as its light, windblown seeds invade old fields,

roadsides, and overgrazed ranges. The basal leaf

sheaths are strongly flattened and colorless or yellow;

the rest of the plant is greenish yellow. A glaucous

variety, chalky broomsedge, Andropogon uirginicus

var. gluucopsis (Eli.) Hitchc., is common on poorly

drained sites of the lower Coastal Plain. The two

forms may grow on the same site.

Although best known as an old-field invader,

broomsedge occurs throughout the piney woods, even

on ungrazed ranges. It is most common on sandy

sites, but grows on a wide range of soils. On cutover

longleaf pine ranges it often inhabits stump holes.

Inflorescence branches are numerous, each bearing

two to four slender silky racemes about 1 inch long. A

spathe partly encloses each raceme. Broomsedge can

be distinguished from its close relatives, Elliott blue

stem, fineleaf bluestem, and bushy bluestem, by its

extremely flat basal sheaths and yellow-green or bluegray color.

Except on wet sites and abandoned fields, it is seldom abundant enough to contribute much forage.

Where surface drainage is moderately slow, however,

the chalky broomsedge variety is valuable as forage,

especially in the fall.

Several closely related species occur with broomsedge in the Southeast. Chalky bluestem of the &Jantic Coastal Plain is similar to chalky broorn&dge.

Hairy bluestem, an early flowering grass of south and

central Florida and south Georgia, has grayish, hairy

foliage. Inflorescences are similar to those of broomsedge, although three or four racemes may be found

on some branches; broomsedge has only two racemes

per branch and lower sheaths are usually glabrous,

flattened, and yellow to yellow-green in color. Intergradations between the silky-racemed bluestems may

be. encountered.

Range: Throughout most of the eastern half of the

United States; also reported from California.

Perennial. Cuhns erect, 50 - 100 cm tall, often in large

tufts, simple at the base, branched above: sheaths

shorter than the internodes, compressed, hirsute on

the margins, otherwise glabrous and shining, conspicuously equitant and flat in mature plants, less so in

young ones; ligule membranous, short, ciliate; blades

flat or folded, 2 - 5 mm wide, 15 - 40 cm long, pilose

on the upper surface near the base; racemes two to

four, 2 - 3 cm long, partly included and shorter than

the coppery, slightly inflated spathes; sessile spikelet

glabrous,“about 3 mm long with an awn 1 - 2 cm long;

pedicellate spikelet generally obsolete, the pedicel

long-siky-villous.

10
Little Bluestem-Schirachytium scoparium (Michx.) Nash-(Andropogon scoparius Michx.)

Little bluestem occurs across the United States in

a complex of ecotypic variations that has been incompletely and inconsistently classified. Generally, the

western and northern forms have glabrous foliage,

while those found in the South, including pinehill

bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium var. diuergens

(Hack.) Gould, have varying degrees of foliage

pubescence (McMillan 1964). On cutover or open forest sites in the longleaf - slash pine - bluestem type,

little bluestem is usually a major forage plant, often

producing over 50 percent of the forage.

Pinehill bluestem, or eastern little bluestem (Gould

1975), which is the common form of S. scoparium in

Louisiana and east Texas, differs from typical little

bluestem by its unreduced pedicellate spikelet, which

may be sterile or staminate. The pedicellate spikelet

in little bluestem is a sterile rudiment.

Protein content of new growth is high in spring or

following a fire anytime during the growing season.

Quality drops rapidly, usually becoming deficient by

midsummer. Phosphorus is deficient yearlong. Palatability remains relatively high throughout the growing season; during winter the standing residue provides excellent roughage for cattle being fed a protein

supplement.

In Alabama, Georgia, and northern Florida, little

bluestem may be confused with creeping bluestem

which is rhizomatous. Pinehill bluestem may have

short rhizomes, but little bluestem is generally considered a bunch grass.

Range: Found in all but the Pacific Coastal States

and Nevada.

Perennial. Cuhns erect, 20- 150 cm tall, tufted; rhizomes occasionally present, short, knotty; foliage

glabrous to villous, green to glaucous; sheaths (lower)

laterally compressed and keeled; blades 25 -60 cm

long; 3 - 6 mm wide; raceme6 one per inflorescence

branch, 3 - 6 cm long; sessile spikelet six to eight per

‘raceme, fertile, 6 - 8 mm long; awn 8 - 15 mm, paired

with pedicellate spikelet reduced to sterile rudiment

in some varieties, unreduced and sometimes staminate in variety divergens.

I

,/ 2mnn

Collar and ft$.ufe
Creeping Bluestem -Schizachyrium stoloniferum Nash-(Andropogon stolonifer (Nash) Hitchc.)

Creeping bluestem, a close relative of little bluestem, has never been considered a part of the Schizachyrium scoparium complex, although the two species reportedly inter-grade (Godfrey and Wooten

1979). Its creeping rhizomes separate it from associated forms of little bluestem. Creeping bluestem is

one of the major forage grasses of the longleaf-slash

pine-wiregrass type, growing in association with pineland threeawn, the common “wiregrass” of the sandy

soils of Florida and Georgia. In southern Florida,

creeping bluestem may be associated with south Florida bluestem, S. rhizomatum (Swallen) Gould. The

latter is a smaller grass, usually less than 30 inches

tall, with leaf blades %J inch wide or less. South Florida bluestem has shorter rhizomes than creeping

bluestem. Inflorescence characteristics of the two

grasses are similar, but the axis of the raceme of S.

rhizomatum is conspicuously curved-zigzag.

Creeping bluestem, like little bluestem, provides

excellent forage during spring and early summer.

Palatability remains high in winter, and the standing

cured forage provides good quality winter roughage

for cattle if supplemental nutrients are furnished.

Range: Southern Georgia, Florida, and Alabama.

Perennial. Culms to 150 cm tall, solitary or few in a

tuft, rhizomatous; leaves up to 5 mm wide, elongate;

foliage glabrous to villous; raceme8 solitary, 3 - 4 cm

long; sessile spikelet 5 - 7 mm long; pedicellate spikelet rudimentary.

Rocemes

I

lcm

12
Slender Bluestem-Schizachyn’um tenerum Nees--(An&opogon tener (Nees) Kunth)

Slender bluestem is usually the most abundant and

important forage plant on cutover longleaf pine

lands. As the name suggests, it is fine-stemmed and

narrow-leaved; another common name is “wiregrass.”

The wiry flower stalks are up to 3 feet long but have a

sprawling habit, rarely exceeding 1.5 feet in height.

In the growing season following a bum, flower stalks

grow upright. Slender bluestem grows on a variety of

sites, but is most productive on well-drained soils.

Each flower stalk branch bears a single, slim, practically hairless raceme about 2 inches long. The

racemes appear in early summer and shatter soon

after maturity. Thereafter, plants can be identified by

the slightly enlarged oblique tips of flower stalk

branches.

Slender bluestem grows mixed with other grasses.

In favorable years on cutover sites its dense mass of

reclining seedstalks obscures and may smother other

species, creating the appearance of extensive pure

stands. As it does not tolerate heavy shade, abundance decreases following reforestation of cutover

lands.

On nontimbered sites, this grass is important in

the cattle diet. It matures much earlier than most

associated grasses and, unless grazed closely,

becomes fibrous and unpalatable by midsummer. An

accumulation of old growth not only discourages

grazing but interferes with growth, thereby reducing

herbage production. Where a heavy rough develops,

burning may materially improve grazing value.

Range: Texas and Oklahoma to Florida and Georgia.

Perennial. Cuhns 60 - 100 cm long, slender, in tufts,

reclining, the upper half sparingly branched; sheaths

shorter than the internode, broader than the blade,

glabrous; ligule less than 1 mm long, edge smooth;

blades about 1 mm wide, flat or loosely involute, glabrous except for sparse, fine hairs at the base;

racemes solitary, 2-6 cm long, glabrous, on long

peduncles with slightly flared, obliquely pointed tip;

sessile spikelet 4 - 5 mm long, the awn 7 - 10 mm

long, twisted and bent; pedicellate spikelet 4 - 5 mm

long, awnless, empty, or sometimes staminate.
Pa&cum Grasses--PaniCurn spp., Dichunthelium SPP.

The genus Panicum, as outlined in Hitchcock’s

manual (Hitchcock 1950), consisted of three subgenera, two of which were represented by numerous

species throughout the South. Subgenus DichuntheE

ium, the “low” panicurns, were those that flowered in

spring and again in late summer, with distinct winter,

spring, and fall phases; subgenus Eupanicum, the

“true” panicurns, flowered once yearly, whosevegetative appearance did not change appreciably during

the growing season. The panicurns have been revised

in recent years, especially in Dichunthelium, which

has become the genus for low pa&urns, and species

have been combined to reduce the total number from

over 100 to 26 (Gould and Clark 1978). The true panicums of subgenus Eupanicum remain in the genus

Panicum.

Although the revision reduced the number of spe-

&s, the low panicums remain one of the largest genera of grasses in the South. While they do not produce

as much forage as the bluestems, they are often a

high-quality component of the diet for deer and cattle

in late winter or early spring before other grasses

begin new growth. Crude protein of early growth may

exceed 15 percent. Mature green leaves contain

around 8 percent protein, almost as high as new

growth of bluestems. The true panicums, which

include switchgrass, beaked panicurn, and maidencane, are generally higher in nutrient content than

the bluestems.

The panicurns included here are those considered

~portant because of wide distribution, general abundance, or unusually high forage value within a range

type14
Needleleaf Panicum--DichantheZium acicube(Desv. ex Poir.) Gould & Clark-(formerly Punicum a&u&we

Desv. ex Poir. and P. angustifo2ium Ell.)

Considered as two separate Panicum species before

the Dichanthelium revision, needleleaf panicum, P.

acicukzre, and narrowleaf panicurn, P. angustifolium,

were combined along with about 20 other names

under the name Dichanthelium aciculare. The common name associated with P. aciculure was retained.

Needleleaf panicurn, as now interpreted, is the

most common low panicum on sandy longleaf-slash

pine sites. Leaves and stems may be 6 inches long and

over l/4 inch wide, hairy or hairless, and autumnal

leaves may be tightly rolled. Spikelets are %s to %

inch long and minutely hairy or hairless. Because of

the numerous former taxa combined under this species and the wide geographical range included, considerable variation must he allowed in all plant characteristics.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Missouri, Indiana, and Massachusetts.

Perennial (spring phase). Culms usually stiffly erect,

25 - 75 cm tall, glabrous or moderately pubescent or

pilose but the nodes not truly bearded, often branching freely above with age, producing fascicles of

reduced leaves and panicles, the leaves narrow, often

involute; sheaths glabrous, pubescent, or pilose, occasionally with long, papillate hairs; ligule usually a

fringe of hairs 1 mm or less long; leaves firm or stiff,

narrowly lanceolate, usually acuminate, glabrous or

hairy, 6 - 20 cm long and 2 - 8 mm broad, sometimes

becoming tightly involute, panicles open or tightly

contracted, mostly 4 -9 cm long; spikelets ellipticovate to obpyriform or fusiform, glabrous or puberulent, 1.9 - 3.6 mm long; first glume about half as long

as the spikelet.
Woolly Panicum-Dichanthelium acuminatum (Swartz) Gould & Clark var. acuminatum-(Panicum lanuginosum Ell.)

Approximately 70 former species or varieties of

hairy low panicums were placed in four varieties of

Dichanthelium acuminatum by Gould and Clark.

More than 40 plant names were combined under the

variety acuminatum. Several varieties of D. acuminaturn, including Lindheimer panicum, are almost hairless. In this handbook, D. acuminatum var. acuminaturn will represent the “woolly” varieties and var.

lindheimeri the nearly hairless varieties of D. acuminatum.

Woolly panicum grows throughout North America

on sandy woodland soils. It is a consistent, although

minor, component of the forage in open southern pine

forests. Like other low panicurns, it exhibits the three

seasonal growth forms and provides limited early

green forage.

L igule

I

3mn

Range: British Columbia and Quebec to California

and Florida; Central and South America.

Perennial (spring phase). Culms usually in large

clumps, 15 - 60 cm tall, usually densely villous below

with long, soft hairs, these often minutely papillate;

leaves variously pubescent to nearly glabrous, 5 - 10

cm long and 5 - 12 mm broad, the hairs soft or coarse,

usually long; sheaths shorter than the internodes,

soft-villous or puberulent on the back, ciliate on the

margins; ligules well developed with hairs mostly

2 -4 mm lorig; panicles 5 - 8 cm long, loosely-flowered, commonly pubescent on the main axis and lower

branches; spikelets pubescent, elliptic-obovate,

1.6 - 2.5 mm long; first glume about as broad as long,

one-third as long as the spikelet, broadly pointed to

somewhat rounded at the apex.

Icm

Faif foliage

Winter f asette

Habit

16
Lindheimer Pa&urn-Dkhanthelium ucuminutum var. Zindheimeri (Nash) Gould and Clark-(Punic~m. Zindheimeri Nash)

This low panicurn is common in dry sandy woods

throughout the eastern half of the United States.

Spring flower stalks are 1 to 3 feet tall. Leaf blades

are ascending, 1 to 4 inches long and ‘Is to 2/5 inch

wide. The ligule is a dense ring of hairs % inch long,

easily seen with the naked eye. The panicle is 1% to

2% inches long with spikelets less than l/16 inch in

length. The tiny spikelets and the hairy ligule are

good distinguishing characteristics for this grass.

Fall foliage consists of stiffly spreading, often

prostrate stems made top-heavy by crowded

branches of small leaves. Fall leaves average about 1

inch long and 0.1 inch wide.

Range: Texas to Minnesota and eastward; also

New Mexico, California, and Oregon.

Perennial (spring phase). Culms tufted, stiffly ascending or spreading, 30 -90 cm talk blades lanceolate

3 - 15 cm long, 3 - 15 mm wide; sheaths ciliate on

margins; ligule a tuft of white hair 4 - 5 mm long;

panicle 4 - 7 cm long, about as wide; spikelets 1 - 2

mm long, puberulent.

L
Delicate Panicurn--DichantheZium dichotomum var. ensifolium (Baldw.) Gould & Clark-(Panicurn chcmaeZonche !Mn.)

As its common name indicates, this low panicum is

a small, slender grass, seldom exceeding 18 inches in

height. Spring plants form dense tufts, and freely

branching fall growth forms dense cushions; on low

sandy sites with little competition, fall clumps may

grow to 20 inches in diameter. It is found on wet

seeps, marshy areas, and acid bogs, usually in shade.

Foliage of delicate panicum is hairless and makes

excellent forage, although it seldom contributes a

significant amount to the cattle diet. In south Florida, plants remain partially green during winter. Winter rosettes furnish some green winter forage for deer.

Seeds, though tiny, are eaten by quail.

Spring plants have leaf blades % to 1% inches

long, and panicles are 1 to 2 inches long. Seeds are

among the smallest of the panicurns, only slightly

more than lhs inch long. Numerous similar, closely

related panicurns were combined under DichantheE

ium dichotomum in the Gould and Clark (1978) revision. Approximately 50 Punicum species or varieties,

including P. glabrifolium Nash, a similar but larger

plant found in south Florida, were assigned among

five varieties of Dichunthelium dichotomum. Punicum glubrifolium is now D. dichotomum var. glabrifolium (Nash) Gould & Clark.

Range: Texas and Arkansas to Florida and New

Jersey.

Perennial (spring phase). Culms densely tufted, to 45

cm tall, ascending; blades firm, 1.5 -4.0 cm long,

2 - 3 mm wide; panicle 2 - 6 cm long; spikelets

1 . 1 - 1.5 mm long, glabrous.

SPRING ] FALL

18
Wideleaf Panicurn-Dichanthelium Zutifolium (L.) Hard-(Panicurnhtifolium L.)

Wideleaf panicum is a low panicum in rocky or

sandy woods of the northern portion of the loblolly

shortleaf pine-bluestem type. Plants may be over 3

feet tall with leaves 7 inches long and 1 Yz inches wide.

Except for scattered hairs on lower stems and

sheaths, foliage is hairless, including stem joints.

Panicles are up to 6 inches long with spikelets about

1% inch long.

Another broadleaf panicum, Dichanthelium boscii

(Poir.) Gould, found throughout the southern states,

is similar to wideleaf panicum. Stem joints are

bearded in 13. boscil; however, and spikelets are

larger. These two grasses have the broadest leaves of

all low panicurns, and their spikelets are among the

largest. Autumn foliage is crowded on top-heavy,

branched stems; leaves are about the same size as

those produced in spring.

Velvet panicum, D. scopatium (Lam.) Gould, is one

of the coarsest and tallest of low panicums, reaching a

height of 4 to 5 feet on favorable sites such as sandy

ditches and swales throughout the South. Leaves are

not as wide and spikelets not as large as those of D.

Zutifolium and D. boscii. Velvet panicum is seldom

found on burned or grazed forest range.

A common broadleaf low panicurn of shaded loblolly-shortleaf pinehardwood sites that may be confused with wideleaf panicum is variable panicurn, D.

commutatum (Schult.) Gould. It is found also in river

bottoms and other moist shaded sites throughout the

eastern and Gulf Coastal States.

Range: Arkansas to northern Georgia, extending

northward to Canada.

Perennial (spring phase). Culms 45 - 100 cm tall, glabrous or sparsely pubescent toward base, nodes glabrous; sheaths ciliate; blades 8- 18 cm long, 3- 35

mm wide, thin, glabrous; ligule a minute fringed

membrane, rarely 1 mm long; panicle 6 - 20 cm long;

spikelets 3.3 - 3.8 mm, puberulent to nearly glabrous.

. -

FALL

Ha&it

19
Little Panicum-Dichanthelium leucoblepharis var. glubrescens (Griseb.) Gould & Clark-(Panicurn polycaulon Nash)

This low panicum rarely exceeds 6 inches in height.

In the pine flatwoods of the Coastal Plain where it

commonly occurs, it is usually the smallest panicum.

Winter rosette leaves are about 3 inches long and ‘/

inch wide. Later spring leaves are about half that size,

and those just below the inflorescence are often less

than ‘/2 inch long. Foliage is light green and soft,

often turning purplish after flowering heads are produced. Except for ciliate hair on leaf margins, foliage

is glabrous. Spring panicles, which are about 1%

inches long and 1 inch wide, also turn purple.

Dichanthelium leucoblepharis (Trin.) Gould &

Clark var. leucoblepharis (Panicum ciliatum Ell.) is

found on similar sites throughout the range of little

panicurn. Its spikelets, which are slightly larger than

those of little panicum, are usually pubescent; those

of little panicum are glabrous.

Little panicum is a frequent associate of pineland

threeawn in the longleaf-slash pine-wiregrass type in

Florida and Georgia.

Range: Coastal Plain, Louisiana to Florida and

So&her-n Georgia.

Perennial (spring phase). Cuhns tufted, 15-45 cm

tall, usually erect; leaves mostly basal, blades 3-6

cm long, 4 - 6 mm wide, ciliate; cauline leaves few,

reduced in size; panicle 3 - 4 cm long, about as wide,

; axis pilose; spikelets 1.2- 1.8 mm long, glabrous,

obovate.

20

Spring Plant
Lance Panicurn-Dichanthelium sabulorum var. pat&urn (Scribn. & Merrill) Gould & Clark-(Panicum kencearium Trin.)

This low panicum is found in low, moist, sandy

woods of the Coastal Plain, primarily in the pine flatwoods of the longleaf-slash pine-wiregrass type.

Spring clumps have numerous erect purplish stalks

about 1 foot tall, the outer bent upward at the lower

joints. Leaves as well as stems may turn purple as

spring foliage matures. Although plants appear hairless to the naked eye, stems and leaves are sparsely

coated with short gray hairs.

Spring leaf blades are 1 to 2 inches long. Panicles

are about 2 inches long and about as wide, with fine

wavy branches and spikelets about %I inch long. Fall

foliage branches are less than 6 inches long with

closely spaced blades about 1 inch long. As in most

low panicurns, fall seeds are on reduced axillary panicles, partially hidden by leaves.

Range: Coastal Plain, Texas to Florida and Massachusetts.

Perennial (spring phase). Cubes 20 - 50 cm tall, pub

erulent, cespitose, branching from base only, erect,

outer stems decumbent at base; blades 2 - 6 cm long,

3 - 7 mm wide, glabrous on upper surface, puberulent

below; panicle 3 - 6 cm long, 2.5 - 5.0 cm broad; spikelets 1.8-3.6 mm long, puberulent or occasionally

glabrous.

\\

FaN Plant

1

1Clll

Spihht

Spring Plant
Spring panicle and leaf lmm

Roundseed Pa&urn-Dichanthelium sphaerocarpon (EL) Gould var. sphaemcarpon-(Pan&m sphaemcarpon Ell.)

Although roundseed panicurn has the seasonal

vegetational variations of the low panicurns, its fall

and spring phases do not differ drastically. Thus, fall

leaves are not greatly reduced or crowded, and fall

panicles are fully exserted above the leaves. The

short, broad leaves of the winter rosette are conspicuous.

This panicum is widely distributed through the

piney woods in the Southeast, in association with the

bluestems. In the northern states, it grows on sandy

woodland soils. Like other low panicurns, it yields little forage, but quality is good.

Roundseed panicum is distinctive because of its

relatively broad leaves and tiny spikelets. Spring

leaves are mostly 2 to 4 inches long, lance shaped, and

about % inch wide. Except for a few long white hairs

at the leaf blade base, the plant appears almost hairless. Usually there is no ligule. When fully expanded,

spring panicles are conical and 2 to 4 inches long.

Spikelets are generally purple and about Ihs inch

long.

A variety, Dichanthelium sphuerocarpon var. isophyllum (Scribn.) Gould & Clark, with larger leaves

(to 10 inches long and 1% inches wide) and larger

inflorescences (7 inches long and 3 inches wide),

grows throughout most of the range of typical roundseedpanicum.

Range: Practically the entire eastern half of the

United States from Texas and northern Florida to

Kansas, Michigan, and Vermont: also reported from

Mexico to Venezuela.

Perennial (spring phase). Cuhns 20 -80 cm tall,

spreading, sometimes nearly erect, the nodes

appressed-pubescenti sheaths, the upper shorter, the

lower longer than the internodes, ciliate on the margin, sometimes with viscid tubercles between the

nerves; ligule obsolete or nearly so; mid-culm blades

6 - 10 cm. long, 6 - 11 mm wide, the lowermost and

uppermost shorter, thick, firm, acuminate, slightly

narrowed to a subcordate base, margins cartilaginous

and stiffly ciliate, often papillose; fnflorescence a

long-exserted panicle 5 - 10 cm long, nearly as wide,

the axis and ascending branches with viscid spots;

spikelets 1.4 - 2.2 mm long, dark purple, green, or

white, puberulent; fit glume about one-fourth the

length of the spikelet; second glume and sterile

lemma equaling the fruit at maturity, 5- to ‘I-nerved.

Winter rosette

Hobi-t

22
Spreading Panicum-Panicum anceps var. rhizomatum (Hitchc. & Chase) Fem.

Although some recent authors (Gould 1975, Allen

1980, Correll and Johnston 1970) consider spreading

panicum only a Coastal Plain variant of beaked panicum, Panicum anceps Michx., others (Radford and

others 1968, USDA 1982) recognize them as separate

varieties. The criteria used to separate the two are:

Variety Panicle Spikelet Rhizome Range

size

anceps open 2.5 - short through3.8 mm out SE

U.S.

rhizomatum more or < 2.2 - elongate Coastal

less 2.8 mm Plain

contracted

The varietal difference is probably valid, especially

when inland specimens from Missouri are compared

* with plants from the lower Coastal Plain of Louisiana.

However, both types can be lumped under P. anceps

without fear of error.

Gaping panicum grows on the same sites as

spreading panicum. Although the two are similar,

spikelets of spreading panicum sit obliquely on pediccl tips, while those of gaping panicurn sit straight

with the pedicel axis. Gaping panicum has no rhizomes.

Spreading panicum grows on wet sites throughout

pine forests of the lower Coastal Plain. It commonly

inhabits poorly drained flats, shallow depressions,

drainageways, and stump holes on open sites or under

moderate pine canopies.

Like other true panicurns, it lacks distinct seasonal

phases and flowers only once a year. Seedstalks are

generally less than 3 feet tall, from long, slender rhizomes. Basal leaves are usually numerous; the blades

measure about % inch wide and a foot or more in

length. Close grazing causes basal tufts to spread

widely, the prostrate leaves forming a dense cover

over small areas.

Spreading panicum is readily eaten by cattle. Even

on moderately grazed range, plants usually are

closely utilized. The species withstands heavy use,

but is rarely abundant except on small areas, and

hence contributes only small quantities of forage.

Range: Coastal Plain, Texas to Florida, extending

north to Maryland, inland to Tennessee.

Perennial. Culms 50 - 100 cm tall, compressed, from

slender, scaly rhizomes; sheaths crowded at the base,

glabrous to densely papillosevilIous, particularly villous at the collar; IiguIe short, almost obsolete, with a

dense area of hairs above it; blades 10 - 40 cm long,

erect or spreading, 5 - 10 mm wide, glabrous to villous on both surfaces; inflorescence a terminal panicle

lo- 25 cm long, somewhat contracted and densely

flowered; spikelets 2.2 - 2.8 mm long, obliquely set on

dc/

Hobit

their appressed, scabrous pedicels; flit glume onethird to onehalf as long as the lemma, with a prominent scabrous keel; second glume and sterile lemma

subequal, slightly beak& floret about 1.9 mm long,

ovoid, pale and shining, tipped with a group of minute, thick hairs.

23
Maidencane-.hnicum hemitomon Schult.

Maidencane or “paille fine” as it is called in Louisiana and east Texas, is a warm-season perennial grass

important on freshwater marshes and .open, wet sites

in the Coastal Plain. It spreads by underground nmners and may occur in extensive, almost pure stands.

Stems, some sterile, some producing seed heads, are

20 to 60 inches tall. Sterile stems, which produce no

seed heads, have hairy leaf sheaths; stems producing

seeds are hairless.

When not killed by frost, maidencane produces

high quality forage yearlong. In Louisiana marshes,

earthen walkways are often constructed to allow cattle easier access to the wet sites occupied by this

grass. Periods of high water during summer

months provide marsh ranges a natural grazing

deferment. Overgrazing can be very detrimental to

maidencane, especially if sites are abnormally dry.

Maidencane yields 4 to 5 tons per acre of high quality herbage. When cut in the young growth stage, it

makes excellent hay. Mature herbage, though

tougher and less palatable than spring growth, may

contain over 9 percent protein.

Range: Coastal Plain, Texas to Florida, extending

north to New Jersey: reportedly collected also in

Tennessee..

Perennial. Culms rhizomatous, sterile stalks with

densely hirsute sheaths, fertile stalks 50 - 150 cm tall

with glabrous sheaths; blades 10 - 25 cm long, 5 - 15

mm wide, glabrous; panicle 15 - 30 cm long, branches

appressed, 2 - 10 cm long; spikelets 2.4- 2.7 mm

long, lanceolate; first glume about half the length of

spikelet, acute.

24
Torpedograss-P&cum .mpens L.

Torpedograss is a familiar grass on gulf coastal

beaches, where it is a major natural factor in stabilizing sand dunes. Rigid stalks 1 to 4 feet tall rise from

the nodes of extensively creeping rootstocks, which

also may root at the nodes. Seed heads are open, 3 to

5 inches long, with ascending branches. The common

name was derived from the sharp-pointed rhizomes.

Torpedograss grows inland on ditch and canal banks,

often extending into the water. It invades cultivated

cropland on moist fertile sites and thrives as a pasture plant.

Foliage is gray-green to blue-green and practically

hairless. Leaves are palatable to cattle and nutritious.

Although foliage is easily killed by frost, dry grass in

winter retains a relatively high nutrient content.

Torpedograss is a member of the true panicum

group, and is closely related to switchgrass. The

stout, sharp-pointed rhizomes, however, distinguish

torpedograss from any other similar grass.

Range: Gulf coast, Texas to Florida.

Perennial: Culms erect, rigid, 30 - 100 cm tall from

extensively creeping horizontal rootstocks; rootstacks with bladeless sheaths from nodes; sheaths

(culm) more or less pilose; blades flat or folded, 2 - 5

mm wide, linear-lanceolate, sparsely pilose to glabrous; ligule membranaceous, ciliate; panicle open,

‘I- 12 cm long, branches somewhat distant, stiffly

ascending; spikelets 2.2- 2.5 mm long, ovate, pale,

turgid, strongly 5- to g-nerved, glabrous, pointed;

first glume truncate, about one-fifth as long as the

spikelet.

I

lmm

Spikdd

25
Bluejoint Panicurn -Punicum tenerum Beyr.

Bluejoint panicum is a wiry perennial bunch grass

of the true panicum group, with erect stems about 2

feet tall arising from a knotted crown. Foliage is hairless, and the nodes, or joints, are smooth and blue or

purple in color, giving plants a distinctive “bluejoint”

appearance. The plant grows on a variety of wet sites

along the gulf and Atlantic coasts.

Cattle graze bluejoint panicum in the spring before

foliage matures. Regrowth following a spring burn is

palatable, but by late summer even burned herbage is

tough and wiry. On slough sites in good condition, it

may contribute up to 35 percent by weight of the

total herbage.

Flower stalks are produced from June through

August. The inflorescence consists of one to several

ascending branches about 3 inches long, with small,

crowded spikelets. Branches, which may be terminal

or axillary or both, are often only slightly exserted

from leaf sheaths. Appearance of the inflorescence,

along with the wiry leaves and stems, may lead to

confusion with some of the dropseeds (Sporobolus

spp.). Bluejoint panicum, however, has a typical true

panicum spikelet; the first glume is about half the

length of the spikelet, with a strongly nerved and

pointed second glume and sterile lemma.

Range: Near the coast, Texas to Florida and

North Carolina.

Perennial. Culms wiry, in small tufts from a knotted

crown 40-90 cm tall; nodes glabrous, purple or

bluish; lower sheaths pubescent with spreading hairs

toward summit; blades 4 - 15 cm long, 2 - 4 mm wide,

ascending or erect, sub-involute, pilose on the upper

surface toward base, glabrous beneath; panicles 3 - 8

cm long, 0.5 - 1.0 cm wide, very slender, terminal and

axillary, branches ascending to appressed; spikelets

2.2 - 2.8 mm long, pointed, glabrous; fruit, brownish,

shiny.

26
Warty Panicum-Panicum verrucosum Muhl.

This annual of the true panicum group is a sprawling grass with culms up to 5 feet long branching and

rooting at the nodes. It inhabits moist sandy sites

and is most abundant in the understory of open

woods. Foliage is lax, hairless, and light green with

white midribs in the blades and white veins in the

sheaths. Basal joints are bent and the lower joints of

the stem are purple. The upper stem is hidden by the

sheaths. Blades are 2 to 8 inches long and ‘Is to 2/5 inch

wide.

The panicle is 2 to 12 inches long with numerous

ascending branches. Spikelets, borne on short

appressed branchlets on the outer half of the main

branches, are about V16 inch long and green. The outer

bracts are covered with small tubercles, giving spikelets a “warty” appearance.

Seeds of warty panicum usually germinate by

March, and plants are tall enough to furnish some

grazing by May. The grass provides excellent forage

through September. Seeds are eaten by quail and

other birds.

Before seedheads form, warty panicum may be

confused with crabgrasses, Digitaria spp., which

have a similar sprawling growth habit. A close relative, pimple panicum, Panicum brachyanthum

Steud., occurs in sandy sites in Texas, Oklahoma,

Arkansas, and Louisiana. It is also an annual, but

wiry, with very narrow leaves, and is practically

worthless as forage. Pimple panicum has fewer

branches, and spikelets are hairy as well as warty.

Range: Texas and Arkansas to Florida, Michigan,

and Massachusetts.

Annual. Culms to 150 cm long, nodes glabrous and

purple, hidden by sheaths except near base, lower

stems decumbent, rooting at nodes; foliage lax, light

green, glabrous; sheaths with white veins; blades

5-20 cm long, 4 - 10 mm wide, with white midrib;

panicles 5 - 80 cm long, about as wide, with ascending compound branches; spikelets few (usually two) at

tip of branches and branchlets; 1.8 - 2.1 mm long,

elliptic-obovate, tuberculate.

Spike fe#

27
Switchgrass-Rmicum virgutum L.

Switchgrass is one of the true panicurns, having no

seasonal phases and flowering only in late summer or

early fall. It is among the tallest panicums in the

South, averaging 3 to 4 feet tall on forest range, but

reaching 6 to 7 feet on favorable sites. Switchgrass is

highly variable, however, and small, fine-stemmed

specimens may be encountered.

Because plants spread by numerous scaly rhizomes, switchgrass often forms large, dense colonies.

It is usually sparse on well-drained range sites, but on

moderately wet sandy soils it may be the dominant

grass. Tolerance of shade renders this grass potentially important for grazing under young pines and in

stands that have been thinned several times. Before

foliage matures, cattle prefer it to most associated

species. Where it comprises a minor part of the forage, therefore, it is overgrazed. Switchgrass also has

value for wildlife. Birds eat the seeds, and deer reportedly paw up and eat the rhizomes when winter fcod is

scarce.

Plants are generally hairless except for dense white

hairs behind the ligules and scattered hairs on the

bases of leaf blades. The inflorescence is an open panicle % to 1% feet long with ascending branches. Dried

panicles persist on stiff, stout flower stalks through

the winter and well into the next growing season,

providing a reliable guide to identification. Spikelets

are up to 3/1s inch long, among the largest in southern

panicurns.

Beaked panicum and spreading panicum, though

similar in form, are usually smaller throughout. These

are distinguishable from other panicurns by the

gleaming white midribs of their leaf blades and satiny

sheath linings. While foliage of switchgrass resembles that of yellow indiangrass, the latter can be identified by prominent auricles at its leaf collars.

Range: Throughout the United States except

Idaho, Montana, and the Pacific States.

Perennial. Culms 1 - 2 m tall, terete, robust, erect,

solitary or in clumps from long, hard, scaly rhizomes;

sheaths green to purple tinged, often glaucous,

gleaming white ‘within, mostly glabrous, though

sometimes pilose; ligule membranous-ciliate, a pale

tan to brown membrane 1 - 2 mm long with a dense

mass of fine, white hairs on the back and arising from

it, 3 - 7 mm long, the membrane sloughing off with

age to leave a dense ring of hairs; blades 3 - 15 mm

wide, often glaucous, 10 - 60 cm long, with a prominent, wide, white midrib, ascending, taper-pointed,

mostly glabrous but sometimes pubescent to pilose

on both surfaces, margins scabrous; inflorescence a

long-exserted open panicle 15 - 50 cm long with

ascending branches; spikelets 3.5 -5.0 mm long,

ovoid, acuminate, with prominent nerves; first glume

shorter, second glume longer than the sterile lemma;

floret narrowly ovoid, 2.6 -3.8 mm long or about

three-fourths the length of the spikelet.

28
Gaping Panicum-Steinchisma hiuns (Ell.) Nash-(Panicurn hiuns Ell.)

An old name, Steinchisma hiuns, was restored as

the preferred synonym in the “National List of Scientific Plant Names” (USDA 1982). No new common

name was proposed, however, so the grass will probably continue to be known as gaping panicum. In this

handbook it is included with the true panicurns.

Gaping panicum grows to 2 feet tall in ditches,

stumpholes, on pond or stream margins, and other

moist sites. It is a common grass on such sites from

the desert southwest to the Atlantic coast, but seldom grows in abundance. Flowering begins in late

spring and many plants mature seed by mid-summer.

Forage value is considered only fair, although new

growth in spring or following fire is grazed readily by

cattle.

Gaping panicum leaves are 2 to 6 inches long and

less than ‘/4 inch wide. Growth form varies from

upright clumps of erect, narrow leaves to sprawling

or prostrate plants with relatively broad, lax blades.

The inflorescence is an open panicle, with few widely

spaced branches. Small short-stalked spikelets are

crowded on the outer half of each branch. The inflorescence resembles that of longleaf wedgescale,

Sphenopholis filiformis (Chapm.) Scribn., a common

grass on dry sites throughout the Southern states.

The spikelet of gaping panicum is unique; a sterile

bract (palea) is inflated and hardened, appearing

almost as a second grain.

Range: New Mexico and Missouri to Florida and

Virginia.

Perennial. Culms 20 - 60 cm tall, erect or sometimes

decumbent or prostrate; sheaths shorter than internodes, ciliate or pilose near collar; blades 5 - 15 cm

long, pilose to glabrous, about 6 mm wide: panicle

loose and open, 5 - 20 cm long, primary branches few,

ascending to drooping; spikelets glabrous, 2.2 - 2.4

mm long, about as wide and thick as long at maturity,

falling entire; sterile palea inflated, indurate at maturity; grain about 1.5 mm long.

STERILE PALEd

2 9
Paspalum Grasses--cpaspazum spp.)

The paspalums constitute the second largest group

of grasses in the southeastern United States, with

approximately 50 species. ‘Many have ranges extending into Mexico, Central and South America, and the

Caribbean Islands. Included are several species introduced from South America into the southern United

States as pasture grasses. Vaseygrass, Paspalum

uruillei Steud., dallisgrass, P. dihtatum Poir., and

bahiagrass, P. notatum Fluegge, are notable examples. The latter two species can be troublesome weeds

in lawns across the South.

Paspalums occur on a variety of sites. Species on

upland range usually grow as scattered clumps or

individual plants and do not produce abundant forage. New growth is palatable and relatively high in

nutrients, but plants mature early, and the mature

foliage weathers rapidly. Paspalums are most abundant and robust where plant competition is light, as

on firelines and roadsides.

The paspalum inflorescence usually consists of one

to several racemes, each with spikelets in rows along

the lower side. In prevalent native species, only one

raceme originates from a given point on the main

axis. These often extend in a common direction, making the inflorescence one sided. Grains are flat on one

side, convex on the other.

Flowers of several paspalums are often infected by

ergot, produced by a fungus (Cluviceps paspali F. S.

Stevens and J. G. Hall) that attacks and destroys the

immature gram. Other fungi sometimes grow on the

“honeydew” exuded by the ergot and produce a variety of colors in the seed heads. Although ergot is

toxic to cattle, danger of ergot poisoning is slight on

properly managed ranges, as paspalums usually

comprise a small part of the diet.

3 0

I

lcm

P ospohm difotolum Hobit

Pwpolum norotum
Florida Paspalum-Paspalum floridanum Michx. var. floridanum

Florida paspalum is one of the most robust grasses

on southern pine ranges. It averages 3 feet tall, but

some plants may reach 6 feet or more. Leaves, which

are mostly basal, ascend stiffly. Blades are up to 20

inches long and % inch wide. The dark green foliage is

usually densely hairy, but occasional specimens are

almost hairless. Each stalk has two to five thick

racemes, each about 3 inches long.

This grass thrives on disturbed sites such as firelines, road ditches, and stump holes. On undisturbed

range, it prefers moist, well-drained soils, but also

grows on dry sandy sites and poorly drained flats.

Under light competition, plants spread by stout,

scaly rhizomes to form large, loose bunches; in dense

bluestem stands clumps are small.

Florida paspalum is readily distinguishable from

other paspalums on longleaf pine ranges by its robust

habit, large spikelets, and long, broad leaves. Until

inflorescences appear in early summer, the species

may be confused with big bluestem. Thereafter, and

where old seedstalks persist, Florida paspalum can be

distinguished by the conspicuously zigzag rachises of

the shattered racemes. Vegetative differences are

described under big bluestem. An even more robust

form with hairless, chalky foliage, Paspalum floridunum var. gkzbratum Engelm. ex Vasey, is commonly found in brackish marshes along the Atlantic

and gulf coasts and may be found as a weed on wet

sandy sites throughout the range of typical Florida

paspalum.

The young leaves are palatable and nutritious. As

plants mature, the foliage becomes tough and less

palatable. The grain, which is among the largest of

southern range grasses, is eaten by quail, doves, and

turkey.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Missouri and Maryland.

Perennial. Culms 1 - 2 m tall, solitary or sparse from

robust, scaly rhizomes: sheaths keeled, overlapping

below, glabrous to villous, sometimes papillose; ligule

a firm brown membrane 2 - 3 mm long; blades 15 - 50

cm long, 4 - 10 mm wide, usually villous on the upper

surface near the base, ascending, firm, flat or folded,

the upper ones reduced in size; inflorescence of two to

five racemes 4- 12 cm long; spikelets 4 mm long,

crowded, ovoid, pale, and glabrous, usually in pairs,

on each side of a zigzag rachis, but one sometimes

absent or rudimentary; first glume wanting; second

glume and sterile lemma equal, scarcely covering the

fruit at maturity; grain 3.0 - 3.5 mm long, ovoid, light

brown, minutely papillose, striate.

. .

fnflorescence,

of spr'kelet, and fioret

Mature f?anf
Brownseed Paspalum-Paspalum plicatulum Michx.

Brownseed paspalum grows in forest openings and

on cutover lands throughout the South. It invades

where the soil has been disturbed and on areas that

have been heavily grazed. Preferred sites include wet

meadows, drainageways, and roadside ditches, where

plants spread by rhizomes to form dense colonies. It

is rare under well-stocked timber stands.

Plants produce several seedstalks from 1 to 3 feet

tall. Each stalk bears several slender racemes 1 to 4

inches long. Spikelets are in two rows on the lower

side of a flattened, zigzag axis. Grains are about ‘/s

inch long, medium to dark brown, and shiny. In

mature plants, grain color readily distinguishes

,brownseed paspalum from other paspalum grasses.

Foliage is green to gray green or blue green. Leaves

are firm to wiry, with blades up to 18 inches long.

The common occurrence of brownseed paspalum

along roadways and firebreaks within forests may

exaggerate its abundance. Plants are sparse on most

forest range sites, thus this species normally contributes only a minor part of the cattle diet. The foliage

becomes tough and low in palatability by midseason,

but because leaves frequently remain green through

much of the winter, cattle may eat large amounts

after frost kills back other grasses. In Florida, brownseed paspalum is one of the more palatable grasses.

Extensive stands should not be grazed when spikelets are heavily infected with ergot. Grazing may be

resumed with little risk after seed heads shatter.

Birds eat the grain, but ergot makes the supply

unreliable.

Range: Coastal Plain, Texas to Florida and Georgia.

Perennial. Culms 50 - 100 cm tall, in tufts with many

leafy shoots, erect or ascending from a slightly

decumbent base; sheaths keeled, the lower crowded,

glabrous to papillose-pilose along margins and keel,

or rarely hirsute throughout; ligule a pointed, palebrown membrane 2 -3 mm long; blades 8-45 cm

long, 3 - 10 mm wide, basal ones folded, upper ones

flat and usually greatly reduced in length, glabrous,

but pilose at the base: inflorescence of three to eight

racemes, each 3 - 10 cm long: spikelets 2.5 - 2.8 mm

long, ovoid, brown at maturity; first glume wanting;

the glabrous or appressed-pubescent second g1um.e

and transversely wrinkled sterile lemma equal, both

thin and 5-nerved; grain 2.3 - 2.5 mm long, ovoid,

brown, and shining.

II FfO fld 4mm

Ligufe

32
Fringeleaf Paspalum-Rqdum setaceum var.

Michx.)

Fringeleaf paspalum, hurrahgrass, and bare&em

paspalum are closely related and intergrading species

that were combined with a few other species under

Paspalum setaceum Michx. (Banks 1966). Separate

taxa were maintained by assigning them as varieties.

Several recent plant manuals recognize only the spe

ties, thus lumping all the varieties (Radford and others 1968, Allen 1980). While separation may no longer

be practical in forage management., the grasses are

described as separate varieties in this book.

Fringeleaf paspalum is one of the smallest native

paspalums. The slender flower stalks occasionally

exceed 2 feet, but at this length they rarely stand

erect. Leaves are mostly basal, often spreading along

the ground. Light green blades, usually less than 8

inches long, are often twisted. The flower stalk ends

in an inflorescence of one to three slender racemes,

each 11% to 4 inches long. In addition, there are axillary inflorescences, usually enclosed or half hidden in

leaf sheaths. The grain is smooth, pale, and small-

%s inch or less in length.

Growth habit and foliage of fringeleaf paspalum

resemble those of some of the crabgrasses, Digitaria

spp., which may inhabit the same site. Hairs are only

on the margins of fringeleaf paspalum leaf blades;

hairs of crabgrass blades, if present at a.& grow from

surfaces as well as margins. Through most of the

growing season they can be distinguished by floral

characteristics. Crabgrasses have only terminal

racemes-generally three or more.

Fringeleaf paspalum grows almost exclusively on

disturbed sandy sites. It is never abundant and hence

not an important forage producer, even though palatable.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Minnesota and New Jersey.

Perennial. Culms 20 - 90 cm tall, erect, or spreading

from a knotted base, lower parts brown or purplish;

sheaths keeled, glabrous, or the lower ones puberulent, glabrous, or ciliate along the overlapping margins; ligule membranous, short, backed by a ligular

beard 1 - 3 mm long; blades ascending or spreading,

10 - 35 cm long, 7 - 12 mm or rarely 20 mm wide,

usually strongly ciliate to ciliatepapillose along the

undulate margin, otherwise glabrous, flat, acuminate

at, the apex, rounded to subcordate at the base: inflorescence of one to three terminal racemes, each 5 - 10

cm long, axillary raceme may be hidden in sheath;

spikelets about 2 mm long, suborbicular; first glume

wanting; second glume slightly shorter than the sterile lemma, exposing the fruit at maturity, second

giume and sterile lemma both 3-nerved, the former

glabrous to minutely pubescent with obscurely capitate hairs, sometimes minutely and dimly speckled:

grain about the size and shape of the spikelet, pale

yellow, smooth, and shining.

ci&&folium (Michx.) Vasey-(Paspahm ciliatifolium

Two views ofspikekt

Floret
Barestem Paspalum-Puspalum setaceum var. longepedunculatum (LeConte) Wood-(P. longepeduncuZatuin LeConte)

The common name for this grass was inspired by

the long, slender, naked seedstalks (peduncles) which

emerge from the upper leaf sheaths, supporting the

terminal racemes as high as one foot above the uppermost leaf. A single stalk, terminated by one or two

racemes, usually emerges fully, while others may be

hidden in sheaths. Plants range in height from 8

inches to over 2 feet. It is found on low sandy pine

lands throughout the South but is perhaps most

common and important on the pine flatwoods of

Georgia and Florida. As with most paspahrms, however, plants are seldom found in abundance on undisturbed range. The largest number of plants are found

on disturbed sites where plant competition has been

reduced. Plants occur as clumps of a few to many

stems arising from a knotty base, growing outward

and bending upward at the lower joints.

Although forage value is considered only fair

because of the limited quantity produced, seeds are

eaten by quail and doves. Seeds mature by midsummer, and plants provide poor winter forage.

Fringeleaf paspalum is most likely to be mistaken

for barestem paspalum; both have ciliate hairs on the

margins of leaf blades, which are otherwise hairless.

Spikelets of fringeleaf are larger and ‘sometimes

hairy; those of barestem are smooth. Leaf blades.of

barestem are 2 to 4 inches long and ‘/s to 5/s inches

wide; fringeleaf blades may be over 4 inches long.

Other similar paspalums are generally hairy throughout. The slender raceme% small spikelets, and low

foliage habit are also typical of some of the crab -

grasses.

Range: Coastal Plain, Mississippi to Florida and

North Carolina.

Perennial. Culms one to several from short rhizomes,

ascending to erect, 20 - 80 cm taI.l, glabrous; sheaths

ciliate on margin, purplish with age; blades ciliate on

margins, 4 - 10 cm long, 3 - 8 mm wide; ligule a short,

brown membrane with a ring of white hairs; racemes

one to several, 3 -8 cm long, terminating slender

elongate peduncles, axillary raceme may be hidden in

sheaths; spikelets glabrous, elliptic-obovate, 1.5 - 2.0

mm long, 1 .O - 1.2 mm wide.

I

lcm

Raceme

Spike/e/

34
I Hurrahgrass-Paspalum setaceum var. muhlenbergii (Nash) Banks-(Puspalum pubescens Muhl.)

Hurrahgrass is a small paspalum grass frequently

encountered throughout the South but seldom abundant. It is found most often on disturbed sandy sites

growing as scattered individuals, sometimes in dense

clumps. Flowering plants are about 2 feet tall, with

ascending stalks. Foliage is usually covered with

erect but soft hairs, but some p1ant.s are almost completely hairless.

As in other varieties of Paspalum setaceum,

racemes are slender and usually about 2lYz to 3 inches

long. Each stalk is terminated by a single raceme,

although there may be one or two hidden below. Flowering branches also may emerge from the upper

sheaths. Spikelets are hairless, almost round and

about l/ls inch long. Seed are eaten by birds, but the

plant is not abundant enough to be considered a

major wildlife food plant.

Fringeleaf paspalum and barestem paspahrm have

approximately the same range as hurrahgrass and

occur on similar sites. Leaf blades of both are essentially hairless, however, and spikelets are slightly

smaller than those of hurrahgrass.

Range: Texas and Kansas, extending to Florida,

Michigan, and Vermont.

Perennial Culms ascending, branching at base, from

short rhizomes, 45 - 90 cm tall; sheaths usually pilose

toward summit, occasionally glabrous; blades 8 - 20

cm long, 2 - 10 mm wide, pilose on both surfaces;

racemes one to three terminal, 4 - 17 cm long, one or

more hidden in sheath, spikelets about 2 mm long,

suborbicular, usually glabrous.
Miscellaneous Grasses

Although the bluestems, panicurns, and paspalurns account for most grass forage on southern pine

forest range, many other grass genera are represented, often by a single species. Few are important

forage plants. Some are grazed only when other forage is unavailable; others, though readily eaten by

cattle, either are widely scattered individuals or grow

abundantly only on certain sites.

3 6
Goobergrass-Amphicarpummuhlenbergianum (Schult.)Hitchc.

Goobergrass, known also as blue maidencane, is a

warm-season perennial grass found on wet sites, such

as low pine forests and pond or marsh shores. Its

range is limited to the Coastal Plain of the four southeasternmost states. Spikelets produced in the terminal panicle are perfect but do not produce seed.

Seed are produced on underground branches by spike

lets that do not open. This similarity to the common

peanut or “goober,” Arachis hypogaea L., inspired

the common name.

Stalks arise from a slender rhizome, producing a

spikelike panicle about 5 inches long, with few flowers. Plants are 1 to 3 feet tall, with decumbent stems.

Leaves are about 2% inches long and ?4 inch wide.

They are hairless eicept for occasional marginal

hairs. Blades are conspicuously white-margined.

Goobergrass grows in pure stands on wet sandy

flats, shallow ponds, or sloughs; it will not grow

where water depth permanently exceeds 6 or 8 inches.

Cattle graze it yearlong and deer utilize it in winter.

A hairy annud species, Amphicarpum purshii

Kunth, grows from Georgia to New Jersey.

Range: South Alabama, Florida, coastal Georgia,

and southeastern South Carolina.

Perennial. Culms usually decumbent at base, 30 - 100

cm tall, rhizomatous; leaves firm, blades whitemargined when dry, 10 cm or less in length, 5 - 10 mm

wide; panicle narrow, long-exserted, few-flowered;

spikelets narrowly lanceolate, 6 - 7 mm long, subterranean spikelets 6 - 9 mm long.

Habit
Green Silkyscale-Anthaenantia villosa (Michx.) Beauv.

Green siIkyscaIe is most common on longleaf-slash

pine range. It grows on sandy sites, frequently in

association with Elliott bluestem and paintbrush

bluestem.

Mature plants are about 3 feet tall and spread by

short rhizomes. In heavy bluestem stands, they

usually form small, irregular, densely tufted clumps.

Where soil is unusually fertile, clumps of plants may

occasionally attain basal diameters of 10 to 12 inches.

The smooth, pea-green, twisted foliage is conspicuous

among other grasses. Basal leaves frequently reach 1

foot in length, but upper leaves are very short. Blades

are about VI inch wide, most tapering abruptly to a

point at the tip. Leaf margins are fringed with short

hairs, and blades have no prominent midrib. The

inflorescence is a narrow panicle up to 7 inches long.

Spikelets are green, conspicuously fuzzy, about %

inch long, and ovoid in shape.

Purple silkyscale, Anthaenantia mfu (Ell.) Schult.,

also grows throughout the southern Coastal Plain,

usually on wetter sites than green silkyscale. It can

be distinguished from green silkyscale either by its

purplish spikelets or the lack of hairs on leaf megins.

Green siIkyscale foliage is palatable and nutritious,

but its grazing value is limited by its lack of abundance.

Range: Coastal Plain, Texas to Florida and North

Carolina.

Perennial. Culms 60 - 120 cm tall, slender, in smaIl

tufts or singly from short rhizomes; sheaths glabrous,

nonkeeled, much shorter than the internodes,

crowded and overlapping at the base of the plant; li&

ule a short, ciliate membrane; blades 5 - 10 mm wide,

glabrous with ciliate margins, flat, twisted along the

length one to several times, tapered at the apex, the

basal blades lo- 30 cm long, the upper ones much

reduced; panicle 10 - 17 cm long, pale green, longexserted above the last reduced blade; spikelets 3 7 4

mm long, stalked, solitary, obovoid, with rows of long

hairs between the nerves on the second glume and

sterile lemma; first glume wanting; grain 2.5 mm

long, brown, shining.

3 8

5 Ocm Llft L

I

Ha&‘&

‘URPLE SILKYSCALE m 1
Arrowfeather Threeawn-Atistidupurpurascens Poir.

Arrowfeather threeawn is common on longleafslash pine sites across the South. It grows on dry

sandy sites and increases in abundance on overgrazed

range.

It is a perennial with mostly basal leaves and

forms dense clumps that are usually less than 3

inches in diameter. Flower stalks, which mature in

the fall, average 2 feet tall. The inflorescence is a narrow, nodding panicle 6 to 12 inches long. Spikelets are

round in cross section and one-flowered. They terminate in three spreading awns, each about % inch long.

Exclusive of awns, spikelets are about % inch long.

Although panicles may become purplish toward

maturity, this color is less characteristic thanpurpur

ascens implies. The thin papery glumes, up to % inch

long, persist after spikelets shatter. Foliage curls

conspicuously in the fall, with many of the leaf blades

forming one or more ringlets.

Arrowfeather threeawn is low in forage value. Cattle may graze it in spring, especially on freshly

burned range. Palatability declines after early summer, as the foliage becomes tough and somewhat

wiry.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Wisconsin and Massachusetts.

Perennial. Cuhns 40 - 70 cm tall, slender, in tufts of

several stems from a weak, knotty base; sheaths

smooth and glabrous; ligule a short-ciliate membrane

less than 0.5 mm long; blades 1 - 2 mm wide, flat, to

20 cm long, sometimes with a tuft of long hairs above

the ligule, long-acuminate, in age forming curls or

ringlets; panicle 15 - 30 cm long, one-third to one-half

the total length of the cuhn, the branches short,

appressed; spikelets with three straight spreading

awns 12-25 mm long, the center one sometimes

slightly exceeding the others in length; glumes 6 - 12

mm long, the first longer than the second, scabrous;

lemma 6 - 8 mm long, hispid, sometimes marked with

six to eight diagonal dark-purple bands, the callus

about 0.5 mm long, pubescent: anthers purple.

FIRST G SECOND GLVME

0

ln florescencc

x.A,/ Llm
Bottlebrush Threeawn-Aristida spiciformis Ell.

This showy perennial grass is common on disturbed or overgrazed Coastal Plains flatwoods sites

from Mississippi to South Carolina, but has little

worth as forage. It is found on seepage slopes and

occasionally on well-drained uplands. The 6- to S-inch

bristly seed head on the bare stalk resembles a bottle

brush.

Like most threeawns, bottlebrush threeawn grows

best where competition is light. It is a short-lived

perennial that depends on its abundant seed production for reproduction.

Plants produce very little forage even where stems

are dense. Cattle avoid plants after the bristly seed

heads form in late August and September. The large

seed head distinguishes bottlebrush from pineland

and arrowfeather threeawns.

Several annual threeawns are common and often

abundant on roadsides, overgrazed range, and other

disturbed sites. Churchmouse threeawn, Aristidu

dichotoma Michx., oldfield threeawn, A. oligantha

Michx., and slimspike threeawn, A. Zongespica Poir.,

are three annuals with southwide distribution.

Range: Coastal Plain, Mississippi to central Florida and South Carolina.

Perennial. Culms erect, 50- 100 cm tall, glabrous:

blades 1 - 3 mm wide, elongate, stiffly erect, involute,

glabrous; sheaths glabrous; panicle dense and spikelike, lo-25 cm long; glumes unequal, the first 4- 5

mm long, about half as long as second, both awned;

lemma 1 - 3 cm long including column, awns subequal, 2 - 3 cm long.

4 0
Pineland Threeawn-Atistida sttictu Michx.

This is the “wiregrass” of the southeastern

Coastal Plain. It is a principal forage grass of pine

flatwoods range in Florida and Georgia. Although it

withstands heavy grazing and frequent burning, it is

palatable and nutritious for livestock only for a short

time after a fire. Abundant seedstalks are produced

by midsummer, following an early spring burn. Two

or three years with no burning reduces seedstalk production drastically, and a dense wiregrass rough

builds up. Very little grazing is possible on wiregrass

range without prescribed fire. Plants with seedstalks

are about 3 feet tall. Stalks are erect and slender with

a spikelike terminal panicle about 12 inches long.

Leaf blades are tightly rolled and tough, except in

very new growth. Recently burned plants have stiffly

ascending leaves and seedstalks, appearing quite different from the stalkless, spreading clumps in the

unburned rough.

Cutover muhly is similar in growth habit to pineland threeawn, but its leaf blades are not as tightly

rolled. A distinguishing characteristic of pineland

threeawn is a conspicuous band of white hair covering

the collar,lower blade, and upper sheath of the lower

leaves.

Dense colonies of pineland threeawn are found in

the wet sandy flatwoods of the pine-wiregrass type.

The grass is also the dominant herbaceous plant on

dry sandhills. When eliminated from a site, as by

chopping, it does not return, indicating that few viable seeds are produced.

Range: Mississippi to Florida and North Carolina.

Perennial. Cuhns 50 - 100 cm tall, glabrous; leaves

densely tufted, mostly basal, blades involute, elongate, to 50 cm long; collar densely pilose; panicle slender, to 30 cm long; glumes 7 - 10 mm long, lemma

6 - 8 mm long, scarcely beaked; awns divergent, the

central 1 .O - 1.5 cm long, the lateral slightly shorter.
Cane-ArzmGwia gigantea (Walt). ex Muhl.

Until recently, switch cane and giant cane were

considered two separate species of Arundinariw

switch cane was A. tecta and giant cane was A. gigantea. McClure (1978) changed the rank of switch cane

to subspecies tecta of A. gigantea, made giant cane A.

gigantea spp. gigantea, and separated a third subspecies, A. gigantea spp. macrosperma. No attempt will

be made here to distinguish between subspecies as

differences are based primarily on the presence or

absence of air canals in the rhizome (see illustration)

and are not always conclusive.

Cane is the largest native grass in the United

States. On moist, fertile bottomlands, it may reach 25

feet in height with stems up to 3/4 inch in diameter.

Scattered small plants may be found on uplands adjacent to bottomlands. Unlike most other grasses, it is

an evergreen shrub, the stems surviving for several

years. Cane does not flower often enough to be identified by usual taxonomic procedures but is easily distinguishable from other grasses by its stout, hollow,

jointed stems similar to cane fishing poles. Wide leaf

blades are narrowed to short petioles. On upland

sites, plants flower following grazing or burning.

Cane is excellent forage. Cattle graze leaves and

twigs during winter, when other green herbage is

scarce. On an experimental range in North Carolina,

cane was grazed from May until January and furnished 70 to 93 percent of the cattle diet. Crude protein, calcium, and phosphorus content of cane averaged higher than in other grasses studied and well

above the requirements of growing cattle. Under careful management, grazing capacity was high; 1/2 to 1

acre per cow-month. Despite its high nutritive value,

cane is not abundant enough on upland sites to be

considered an important range forage plant.

Although extensive canebrakes were once common

along many streams, most have been seriously

depleted by overuse. Burning to reduce height, followed by concentrated grazing, eliminated many

stands. Large brakes can be very productive if judiciously managed. Where cane furnishes a minor part

of the forage, it is usually overgrazed.

Range: Southern and southeastern states from

Texas and Oklahoma, extending eastward to West

Virginia, Delaware, and Florida.

Perennial. Cuims I-8 m tall, erect, smooth, and

woody, to 2 cm in diameter, arising abruptly from a

stout rhizome; lower culm sheaths about half as long

as the internode, withering and soon falling; upper

culm sheaths with 10 to 12 bristles 6-9 mm long at

the summit, occasionally growing out of a definite

pair of auricles, a dense band of stiff hairs across the

collar; ligule firm, scarcely 1 mm long; leaf blades

petiolate, rounded at the base, acuminate at the tip,

glabrous to pubescent, 15 - 27 cm long, 2.5 - 4.0 cm

wide on the main cubn and primary branches, shorter

and narrower on the ultimate branchlets, often in

42

dense flabellate clusters; inflorescences paniculate or

racemose, crowded toward the ends of leafy or leafless twigs with few to several spikelets on slender,

angled pedicels 2 - 30 cm long, hirsute to nearly glabrous; spikelets 4 - 7 cm long, about 8 mm wide,

mostly with 8 to 12 flowers, rather loose; glumes distant, acuminate, pubescent, the lower sometimes

wanting; florets 1.5 - 2.0 cm long, the keeled, broadly

lanceolate lemma tapering to an awn about 4 mm

long.
Common Carpetgrass-Axonopus affinis Chase

Carpetgrass differs markedly in growth habit from

most southern range grasses. Under favorable conditions it spreads rapidly by stolons, developing a

dense sod. The best carpetgrass site is a moist,

medium- to fine-textured soil where grazing is

intense. On dry sandy soils it occurs sparingly, growing in shallow depressions or as small, widely scattered colonies along animal trails and on intensely

grazed areas.

Where use is light, carpetgrass cannot compete

successfully with taller grasses. On a Louisiana range

that had been grazed heavily for 12 years, it comprised 15 percent of the vegetation. Three years after

grazing was discontinued it declined to 3 percent.

Slender flower stalks up to 2 feet tall are produced

throughout the growing season. The inflorescence.

consists of two to four slender racemes 1 to 3 inches

long. Leaf blades are mostly 4 to 6 inches long and

about ‘/4 inch wide, with bluntly rounded tips.

The foliage of carpetgrass resembles centipede

grass, Eremochloa ophiuroides (Munro) Hack., and

St. Augustinegrass, Stenotaphrum secundatum

(Walt.) Kuntze. Its inflorescence consists of several

racemes, however, while those of the other grasses

are solitary spikes.

Big carpetgrass, Axonopus furcatus (Fluegge)

Hitchc., and tropical carpetgrass, A. compressus

(Swartz) Beauv., also grow on southern pine forest

ranges. Their characteristics and forage values are

similar to those of common carpetgrass. Both are

usually found on wetter sites than those occupied by

common carpetgrass.

Common carpetgrass is nutritious and highly palatable throughout the growing season. Although cattle usually prefer it over most of the associated

grasses, it is too sparse on well-managed ranges to

contribute much forage. Grazing intensely enough to

maintain carpetgrass stands adversely affects soil

conditions and pine regeneration; it also leaves little

forage for winter use.

Carpetgrass is valuable mainly as cover on range

areas grazed too heavily to support other perennial

grasses. It is also useful for seeding grazed firebreaks, for it readily withstands the utilization pressure necessary to minimize fuel.

Range: Coastal Plain, North Carolina to Texas,

extending north to Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Perennial. Culms slender, glabrous, 25 - 60 cm talI in

erect tufts or from stolons; sheaths broad, compressed-keeled, glabrous; ligule membranous, less

than 0.5 mm long, margin fringed; blades 2 -6 mm

wide, flat or folded, usually short in relation to the

long sheaths, conspicuously rounded at the tip;

racemes two to four, subdigitate, 2 - 10 cm long; spikelets about 2 mm long, oblong-elliptic, blunt at the

tip, sparsely silky-pilose.

YMED PEWNCLE

km 1 ii’ Raceme detail I

Smm

Ligule

2bcm

Habit

43
Longleaf Uniola-Chasmanthium sessiliflorum (Pair.) Yates-Wniola sessiliflora Poir.)

With the exception of seaoats, i%iola panidata

L., all uniolas, known also as spikegrasses, are now in

the genus Chasmanthium. Longleaf umola is perhaps

the most characteristic grass of the loblolly-shortleaf

pine-hardwood type; in densely shaded stands, it may

be the only grass present. It grows in hSe tufts from

short, knotty rhizomes. Stalks are erect to spreading

or slightly nodding, from 2 to 4 feet tall. Although

classified as a warm season perennial, it produces new

growth sporadically during the winter and early

spring. By late spring or early summer, vegetative

growth ceases and seedstalks form. Seed do not

mature until fall.

Leaf blades are 3 to 16 inches long and up to ‘/z

inch wide, tapering toward both the tip and base.

Blades are usually thinly coated with short white

hairs on the lower surface. Upper surfaces are hairless

.except near the base. Sheaths are conspicuously

hairy, especially at the summit.

The inflorescence is a spike-like panicle 8 to 20

inches long with stiffly ascending or appressed

branches up to 3 inches long. The flat, three- to fiveflowered spikelets are clustered along the panicle

branches. Mature seed are black, about iho inch long.

Despite its tolerance of fairly heavy shade, longleaf

uniola produces more forage in stands opened up by

thinning or removal of weed trees and brush. However, it cannot tolerate full sunlight. The uniolas rank

below the bluestems in quantity and quality of forage

produced, but the value is enhanced by winter burning, which destroys old growth and promotes early

regrowth. New growth following a winter fire is palatable and comparable to the better bluestems in protein content. By the time seedstalks appear in early

summer, however, palatability is much below that of

the bluestems, although protein content remains relatively high. Some foliage retains a green color

throughout the winter.

Spike uniola, C Zaxum (L.) Yates, is similar in

appearance and growth habit to longleaf uniola. The

two grow together throughout the South, but on

pineywoods range, longleaf umola is usually most

abundant. Spike umola, which has hairless foliage,

narrower leaves, and a more nodding seedstalk than

longleaf, is generally more common on sites some

what wetter than those occupied by longleaf uniola.

The conspicuously hairy sheaths of longleaf uniola

are the most reliable distinguishing characteristics;

spike uniola is hairless. The two grasses are similar in

forage value as well as in appearance; thus, there is

‘little need to distinguish between them.

Broadleaf uniola, C. Zutifolium (Michx.) Yates, has

leaves up to 1 inch wide and is found on shaded,

sandy streambanks throughout the South. Its flat,

several-flowered spikelets resemble those of seaoats

more than those of other species of Chasmanthium.

Range: East Texas and Oklahoma to Florida and

Virginia.

,Perennial.Culms 50 - 150 cm tall, erect in loose tufts

from short, knotted rootstocks; sheaths pilose, at

least toward summit, densely pilose at collar; blades

8 - 38 cm long, 5 - 10 mm wide, firm, sparsely pilose

on upper surface near base, puberulent on lower surface or merely short ciliate on margins; ligule short,

membranous, finely ciliate; panicle long-exserted,

20 - 50 cm long, branches narrow, distant, ascending

or appressed; spikelets in fascicles 1 - 3 cm apart,

flat, 3- to 5-flowered, broadly v-shaped at maturity,

6 - 8 mm long; glumes 1.5 - 2 mm long, much shorter

than lemmas: first lemma sterile; fertile lemma 3 - 5

mm long, acuminate, beaked, striate-nerved: palea

shorter than lemma, acute; grain about 3 mm long,

black.

44
Carolina Jointtail-Coeloruchi cylindrica (Michx.) Nash-Wunisuris cylindrica (Michx.) Kuntze)

Recent revision of the genus Manisuris and related

genera moved all southern species of Manisuris to the

genus Coeloruchis, an earlier name for the jointtails.

Itchgrass, formerly Rottboelliu exultutu L. f., is now

Manisuris exultatu (L. f.) Krmtze. An agricultural

weed throughout the South, itchgrass is now the only

species in the genus Munisuris.

Carolina jointtail grows on sandy soils throughout

the South, usually on disturbed sites such as firelines.

In spring and early summer, plants are easily identified by the jointed, cylindrical, spikelike raceme at

the tip of each flower stalk. Racemes are generally 3

to 6 inches long and about % inch in diameter. They

shatter readily at maturity; plants may afterwards be

recognized by the swollen joint at the stalk tip.

Carolina jointtail usually grows in small colonies.

Since the seedbearing joints of the racemes are heavy,

most seeds remain near the parent. New plants begin

as small tufts, spreading by short rhizomes. Height

at maturity is about 3 feet.

Lattice jointtail, C. tesselhtu (Steud.) Nash, and

wrinkled jointtail, C. rugosu (Nutt.) Nash, also grow

in the South, but not on dry sites. Both have flattened leaf sheaths; those of Carolina jointtail are

round.

Carolina jointtail is palatable and nutritious until

plants mature in late spring or early summer. It is

apparently intolerant of heavy grazing.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to

North Carolina and Missouri.

Perennial. Culms 30- 100 cm tall, broad at the base,

in tufts from short, stout rhizomes, erect, slender,

generally unbranched; sheaths 2 - 3 mm wide, shorter

than the internodes, cylindrical, sometimes reddish or

purplish: ligule a short membrane, collar and nodes

purple; blades I- 3 mm wide, to 30 cm long, slightly

curved, flat or involute: racemes lo-20 cm long,

cylindrical, purple, solitary on main culm and

branches; spikelets awnless, in pairs at the nodes of a

thickened rachis; sessile spikelet 4 - 5 mm long, perfect, first glume pitted along the nerves; pedicella’te

spikeletreduced to two scales.
Toothachegrass- Ctenium aromaticum (Walt.) Wood

Toothachegrass commonly inhabits flatwoods

sites in cutover areas. It is commonly found on sandy

bogs, where pitcher-plants (Sarracenia spp.) are the

dominant plants. These may be narrow hillside bogs

between a creek and a sandy pine hill.

The ‘plants are conspicuous, growing in clumps

with scant foliage and many erect flower stalks 3 to 5

feet tall. Each stalk ends in a solitary, thick, usually

curving, comblike spike 2 to 6 inches long. Spikelets,

crowded on one side of the axis, bear a straight awn

about ‘%I inch long. Except for Ctenium fZori&num

(Hitchc.) Hitchc., which is restricted to Florida, no

southern grass has an inflorescence resembling that

of toothachegrass.

The foliage of toothachegrass is distinguishable

from other grasses by the fibrous mat that remains

after old leaf sheaths disintegrate. Although it resembles cutover muhly in this character, its fibers are

straight to gently curving, not curly as in cutover

muhly. Its leaf blades are up to 1% inch wide; those of

cutover muhly are less than ‘/s inch wide. Freshly dug

roots emit a distinctive spicy odor; the substance

responsible is reputedly effective in relieving toothache. Chewing the roots produces a slight numbness

in the tongue and gums.

On unburned range, the persistent old leaves and

flower stalks make toothachegrass relatively unpalatable. After a fire, cattle readily graze the herbage.

Range: Coastal Plain, Louisiana to Florida and

Virginia.

Perennial. Culms stout, unbranched, 10 - 150 cm tall,

from aromatic roots; sheaths shorter than the internodes, ribbed, glabrous, persistent, the old ones forming a conspicuous fibrous mass at the base; ligule

about 1 mm long, membranous, truncate; blades 2 - 6

mm wide, flat or involute, elongate with attenuate

tips; inflorescence a single straight or curved thick

spike 5 - 15 cm long; spikelets 5 - 7 mm long,

arranged on one side of the pubescent rachis.

Habit

46
Poverty Danthonia-lkzthonia spicata (L.) Beauv. ex R. 

& S.

Poverty danthonia, known also as poverty oatgrass, povertygrass, or junegrass, is a weedy coolseason perennial bunchgrass found along roadsides

and on rocky, sandy, generally dry or sterile sites

throughout most of the United States. In the South,

it is found most frequently in the loblolly-shortleaf

pine-hardwood and upland hardwood-bluestem types.

Plants average about 1% feet in height, seldom

exceeding 2 feet. Most of the foliage is in a crowded

basal clump of leaves, with narrow blades 4 to 6

inches long and often curved or twisted. A constricted panicle of 2 to 13 spikelets terminates each

culm. A reduced spikelet with a single unopened, selffertilized floret (cleistogene) is produced inside one or

more leaf sheaths.

Two other closely related species, flatstem danthonia, Danthonia compressa Austin, and downy

danthonia, D. sericea Nutt., occur on southern forest

ranges. Flatstem danthonia, which overlaps the

range of poverty danthonia at the mountainous eastern end of the loblolly-shortleaf pine-hardwood type,

has crooked culms and a much looser inflorescence

than poverty danthonia. Downy danthonia, a larger

and hairier species, occurs throughout the South, and

is common but not abundant in longleaf pine forests

of southern Alabama and northwest Florida.

Cattle, deer, and wild turkeys eat the young basal

foliage of poverty danthonia, but the plant is considered an indicator of abused range or poor soils. Westem varieties reportedly have no forage value. Seeds

of both poverty and downy danthonias have limited

value as food for wildlife.

Range: From Maine and FIorida to Washington,

Oregon, and New Mexico. Rare in the Coastal Plain.

Perennial. Culms erect, straight, 20-60 cm tall,

densely cespitose; leaves mainly basal; sheaths glabrous or occasionally pilose, a tuft of long hairs at the

throat; blades up to 20 cm long, 2 mm wide, involute;

inflorescence a contracted panicle 2 - 5 cm long with

2 to 13 spikelets; spikelets 5- to &flowered; glumes

lanceolate-acuminate, 10- 12 mm Iong; lemma

3.5 - 5.0 mm long, sparsely villous, awned from bifid

apex, 4.5 - 9.0 mm; palea broad flat obtuse, ciliolate,

reaching to base of awn: cleistogamous spikelet

usually of one fertile, unawned floret slightly larger

than normal florets.

F/oret

Spike/et

Cleistogene
Hairy Crabgrass-Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Stop.

Hairy crabgrass is the most common of the southem crabgrasses. A native of Europe, it is thoroughly

naturalized and is a weed of lawns and cultivated

ground throughout the United States. On native

range, it occurs on firelines, roadsides, and areas denuded by overgrazing or mechanical disturbance. It is

a spreading, warm-season annual, rooting at the

nodes of reclining stems. On rich soils, with little or

no competition, it may form large clumps. Stems may

be 3 feet, but the height of the clump is seldom more

than 18 inches.

The closely related southern crabgrass, Digitaria

ciiiuris (Retz.) Koeler (0. adscendens (H.B.K.) Henr.

or D. sanguinalis var. ciliaris (Retz.) Parlat.), is widespread and may be mistaken for hairy crabgrass.

Southern crabgrass has glabrous or sparsely papillose-pilose foliage and glabrous nerves on the sterile

lemma; hairy crabgrass foliage is densely pilose, and

nerves of the sterile lemma have short vitreous

spines.

Other common crabgrasses include violet crabgrass, D. ischaemum var. uiokzscens (Link) Radf., (D.

uioluscens Link), slender crabgrass, D. filiformis (L.)

Koel., and shaggy crabgrass, D. uih!osa (Walt.) Pers.

All three are found throughout the South and have

dark-brown seeds. Seeds of hairy crabgrass are pale

in color. There are approximately a dozen other

crabgrasses in the United States with about half of

them found only in southern Florida.

Spring growth is of good quality for cattle forage,

but plants mature early, becoming dry and unpalatable. Since it seldom occurs on undisturbed ranges,

however, little crabgrass forage is included in the cattle diet.

Range: Throughout the United States.

Annual. Cuhns branching and spreading, decumbent,

rooting at lower nodes, finally erect or ascending,

30 - 120 cm long; sheaths, at least the lower, papillose-pilose; ligule erose, 2 - 3 mm long; blades to 16

cm long, 5 - 10 mm wide; racemes three to nine, 5 - 10

cm long, digitate; spikelets pale or grayish, about 3

mm long; first glume minute, second glume approximately one-half spikelet length.

48

Spikcle t

I

lmm

lkm

D. FILIFORMIS

i

lml

3.

-,_-

VIOLASCENS_...-
Virginia Wildrye-Elymus virginicus L.

Virginia wildrye, or Terrellgrass, is a cool-season,

weakly perennial bunchgrass occurring in several

varieties throughout most of the United States.

Although not a common plant of the pine forests, it

grows in all the southern states. Stream borders,

pond shores, moist swales, and rich woods are common habitats. New plants are produced by tillering as

well as by seed.

Stalks are 2 to 3 feet tall with erect seed heads.

Leaf blades are up to 12 inches long, gradually tapering to a fine point from a basal width of about !4 inch.

Stems, leaves, and seed heads are usually hairless. A

good identification character of Virginia wildrye is

the hardened rounded, usually bowed-out base of the

glumes; no other wildrye has this feature.

Canada wildrye, Elymus canadensis L., grows

throughout much of the range of Virginia wildrye,

but is not common in Coastal Plain pine forests. The

two may occupy the same site and much of the variation recognized within each species is attributed to

hybridization. Canada wildrye is more common on

prairies and roadsides and can usually be distinguished by its lax, nodding seed heads and broader,

lance-shaped leaves. Several other wildryes, especially Texas wildrye, E. interruptus Buckl., and hairy

wildrye, E. villosus Muhl., occur at the western and

northern fringes of the loblolly-shortleaf pine type. In

these areas, an appropriate plant manual should be

consulted for positive identification.

Early foliage of Virginia wildrye is palatable and

nutritious, but plants mature by early summer. Both

Virginia and Canada wildrye are classed as “decreasers,” plants that decrease in percent composition on

overgrazed range. Plants apparently cannot tolerate

fire and the widespread use of prescribed burning,

usually accompanied by heavy grazing, further limits

its abundance.

Range: Most of United States.

Perennial. Culms 60- 120 cm tall, tufted, erect;

sheaths glabrous or with inconspicuously ciliate margins; ligule less than 1 mm long, brown, membranous;

blades 5 - 15 cm long, 4 - 8 mm wide, flat, scabrous;

inflorescence a single spike 5- 15 cm long, erect,

often partly included in sheath of upper leaf; spikelets

two per node, 3- to B-flowered; glumes 12 - 15 mm

long, scabrous, strongly nerved, except nerveless at

bowed-out base, indurate, tapering into a straight

awn about as long as the body; lemmas glabrous and

nerveless below, scabrous and nerved above, 6-8

mm long tapering into straight awn 1 cm long; palea

equal in length to body of lemma; grain encased in

lemma and palea, disarticulating above the glumes.

49
Purple Lovegrass-Erugmstis spectabilis (Pursh) Steud.

With its large colorful inflorescence fully

expanded, purple lovegrass is among the showiest of

southern grasses. Until the panicles emerge in late

summer, however, the plants are relatively inconspicuous. This grass grows mainly on sandy ranges that

have been grazed heavily or burned frequently.

Mature plants are 1 to 2 feet tall, with the panicle

usually two-thirds the height and about as broad as

long. At maturity, panicles break away from the stalk

to become “tumbleweeds.” Leaf blades are 6 to 12

inches long and I% to ‘/s inch wide, tapering to a fine

point.

Coastal lovegrass, Eragrostis refracta (Muhl.)

Scribn., and Elliott lovegrass, E. elliottii S. Wats.,

resemble purple lovegrass in size and growth habit.

Their panicles are green to dark gray with delicate

branches, whereas panicles on purple lovegr’ass are

bright purple with comparatively rigid branches.

Spikelets of coastal lovegrass are essentially sessile

on panicle branches, while those of Elliott lovegrass

are on long capillary pedicels.

In the spring, purple lovegrass foliage is palatable

and nutritious. With emergence of the inflorescence

in late summer, palatability declines rapidly. Plants

are rarely abundant enough to supply significant

amounts of herbage.

Range: Arizona to Minnesota, extending east to

Maine and Florida.

Perennial. Cuhns 30-75 cm tall, in tufts from a

knotty, rhizomatous base; sheaths longer than the

internodes, overlapping, glabrous to pilose, conspicuously long-pilose at the summit; ligule a short, ciliate

membrane 0.2 mm long backed by a ring of silky hairs

2 - 4 mm long; blades 3 - 8 mm wide, to 30 cm long,

taper-pointed, stiff, flat, scabrous above, smooth

beneath, ascending, glabrous to pilose; panicle

15-45 cm long, ovoid, about two-thirds the entire

height of the plant, branches minutely scabrous,

strongly pilose in the axils; spikelets 4 - 8 mm long,

about 2 mm wide, on long pedicels, 5- to 12-flowered,

purple; florets about 1.6 mm long, keels of the palea

short-ciliate and bowed out; grain 0.6 - 0.8 mm long,

brown.

:OASTAL LOL’,EGR&

L!iture PLanc

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50
Bent-Awn Plumegrass-Etiunthus contortus Baldw. ex Ell.

This grass and several other common plume

grasses constitute a group of the largest, most conspicuous, upland grasses in the South. Bent-awn

plumegrass grows throughout the Southeast, primarily on moist sandy soils of the longleaf-slash pine and

loblolly-shortleaf pine types. Individual plants may

reach 9 feet in height, but most are 6 feet or less.

Until seed heads form, plants may be confused

with yellow indiangrass; both have long, slender leaf

blades, and bent-awn plumegrass has sheath auricles

somewhat like those of indiangrass. However, the

narrowed bases of indiangrass leaf blades and the

purplish culms of plumegrass should distinguish the

two.

The inflorescence, produced from midsummer to

early autumn, is a loosely constricted panicle 5 to 15

inches long. Each brownish spikelet has a basal whorl

of tawny hairs and a conspicuous, twisted awn. The

arrangement of spikelets on inflorescence branches is

similar to that in the bluestems. Pedicellate spikelets

in the plumegrasses, however, are perfect; in the

bluestems, pedicellate spikelets may be staminate

but never perfect. Indiangrass seed heads, while outwardly similar to those of bent-awn plumegrass, have

no pedicellate spikelets.

Other common plumegrasses include giant plume

grass, Etiunthus gigunteus (Walt.) Hubb. non Muhl.,

and silver plumegrass, E. alopecumides (L.) Ell.,

which have denser, much silkier inflorescences; and

narrow plumegrass, E. sttictus Baldw., with a constricted, practically hairless, brown seed head. All are

usually found on wetter sites than those occupied by

bent-awn plumegrass.

A single plumegrass clump does not produce much

foliage, and clumps are usually scattered. Early

growth may be grazed by cattle and deer, but unless

plants are grazed repeatedly, rapid growth renders

plants tough and unpalatable by midsummer. As

with big bluestem and other talI grasses, however,

grazing intensity based on the total forage resource

may weaken or kill plumegrass plants. Despite these

limitations, plumegrasses as a group are classed as

desirable forage plants.

Range: Texas and Oklahoma to Florida, Tennessee, and Maryland.

Perennial. Culms tufted, stout, erect, l-2 m tall,

glabrous or sparsely pubescent below panicle and at

nodes; sheaths sparsely hirsute at throat; ligule 1 - 2

mm long, firm, minutely ciliate; blade 15 -90 cm

long, 5-24 mm wide, flat or folded at the narrow

base, densely hirsute on upper surface near liguIe;

inflorescence a purplish-brown, exserted panicle

12 - 42 cm long, 3 - 5 cm wide; spikelets all alike, 6 - 8

mm long, brownish, basal hairs as long as spikelet;

glumes more or less hirsute on back and margins,

second longer than first; sterile lemma shorter than

i

2cm

r Spikelet

I

Scm

E. STRICT1

i

.OPECUROIDI

glumes, pubescent; lemma 3 - 4 mm long, 2-toothed,

hyaline, midnerve extended into scabrous awn I2 - 20

mm long.

51
Bearded Skeletongrass- Gymnopogon ambiguus (Michx.) BSP.

Bearded skeletongrass, though seldom abundant,

is conspicuous on sandy pinelands in the South. Distinctive features include short, broad, stiff leaves and

an inflorescence of many stiff, slender, divergent

spikes scattered along the upper part of the flower

stalk. At maturity, the seedstalk breaks below the

lowermost spike, and the entire inflorescence

becomes a “tumbleweed.” Plants spread by short rhizomes to form small clumps. Basal foliage is scant;

leaves are mostly crowded along the rigid stalks,

which are 1 to 2 feet tall at maturity.

Although slim skeletongrass, Gymnopogon breuifdius Trin., is sometimes associated with bearded

skeletongrass, it is also found on more mesic sites

than commonly associated with bearded skeletongrass. It is distinguishable by its inflorescence

branches, which have flowers only on the outer half;

those of bearded skeletongrass bear flowers over their

entire length.

Bearded skeletongrass rarely yields significant

amounts of forage. Cattle apparently eat it, for plants

are scarce on grazed range. The clumps are poorly

anchored in the soil; thus cattle probably uproot

many plants. Deer sometimes paw the rhizomes out

of the soil in winter when better food is scarce.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Kansas, Ohio, and New Jersey.

Perennial. Culms 30-60 cm tall, from short, scaly

rhizomes, erect or decumbent at the base; sheaths

crowded, overlapping with a villous ring at, the summit, otherwise glabrous; ligule membranous; blades

spreading, 5 - 15 cm long, 5 - 14 mm wide, flat, firm,

cordate-lanceolate, glabrous with scabrous margins;

inflorescence of numerous unbranched purplish

spikes 10 - 20 cm long; spikelets 4 - 6 mm long,

excluding the 6 mm awn, arranged the full length of

the branch on two sides of a 3-sided rachis.

Flmt I

I

2mm

Spikeiet

Habit

52
Cutover Muhly--MuhZenbergia expansa (DC.) Trin.

Cutover muhly grows throughout the lower

Coastal Plain in swales and on moist pinelands.

Although the name implies that it occupies only

cutover lands, it is sometimes abundant under open

pine stands. On unburned ranges, the long, stiff, slender leaves are in large, tightly tufted bunches, with

blades near the perimeter of the bunch reclining and

those near the center standing erect. The plants

resemble grass-stage longleaf pines.

Flower stalks, 2 to 3 feet tall, are slender and weak,

often reclining at maturity. Panicles are purplish,

conical, and usually 6 inches long, but occasionally

they reach 18 inches, and branches are delicate.

Hairawn muhly, Muhlenbergia capillaris (Lam.)

Trin., is a similar and closely related grass with a

wider range than cutover muhly. It is found on drier,

more inland sites than cutover muhly. Some authors

consider cutover muhly a Coastal Plain variant of

hairawn muhly. Although its foliage resembles that

of pineywoods dropseed, cutover muhly can be distinguished by its curly, fibrous remnants of old basal

leaves. Its prominent, pointed, white ligules also help

distinguish it from pineywoods dropseed, the ligule of

which is barely visible.

Cutover muhly is low in forage value. Cattle ordinarily eat small amounts of new leaves in the spring,

but they usually reject the foliage later in the growing

season. Although mature leaves are tough and

fibrous, some are eaten during the winter, because

they often remain green. This species may impair

production of better forage. On unburned, moderately

grazed range, the plants attain large basal areas, and

their leaves reach far beyond the basal perimeter.

Thus, a comparatively sparse stand may dominate a

site, excluding most plants of higher quality.

Because cutover muhly is generally considered a

range weed, control has been studied. Although a

single fire failed to kill plants in Louisiana trails,

clump size was reduced. Where 30 to 40 percent of the

range was burned each year in rotation, cattle concentrated on new burns in the spring. With the old

growth destroyed by fire, cattle closely utilized new

foliage. One cycle of burning and subsequent brief

heavy use largely eliminated the species without significantly damaging the better grasses.

Range: Coastal Plain, east Texas to Florida and

Virginia.

Perennial. Culms 60 - 100 cm tall, slender, erect, in

dense tufts: sheaths longer than the internodes, wider

than the blade, loose, smooth to slightly scabrous,

weathering to form a fibrous, curling mass; ligule

2-3 mm long, wider than the blade, firm, pointed;

blades 1.0-2.5 mm wide, to 40 cm long, the upper

short, the lower long, flat, becoming involute; panicles 10 - 45 cm long, pyramidal, with capillary

A

5cm

Habit

branches; spikelets 3.5 - 5.0 mm long, purple, on long,

scabrous, capillary pedicels, awnless or with a short

awn 2 - 3 mm long.

53
Knotroot Bristlegrass-Setark geniculatu (Lam.) Beauv.

Knotroot bristlegrass is common but seldom abundant along roadsides, in old fields and pastures, and

on other disturbed sites throughout the South. It

occurs infrequently on regularly burned, moderately

grazed range. In Florida, however, it is a component

of the stable plant community on flatwoods, slough,

and salt marsh sites. Although a perennial, it produces little forage in competition with major forage

plants like creeping bluestem.

Plants are 2 to 3 feet tall, growing singly or in

small tufts from brittle, knotty rhizomes. Stems are

often geniculate, or bent at the lower joints, giving

greater basal spread to the clumps. This characteristic is common to several other bristlegrasses as well

as to some of the crabgrasses (Digitaria spp.). Leafblades are flat, about ‘I5 inch wide and 2 to 9 inches

long. Each seed stalk is terminated by a spikelike,

bristly panicle % to 4 inches long.

A similar and equally common species, yellow

bristlegrass, Setaria gkzucu (L.) Beauv. (S. Zutescens

(Weig.) F. T. Hubb.), is an annual introduced from

Europe. Like knotroot bristlegrass, it has numerous

bristles subtending each spikelet; bristles of most

other bristlegrasses are generally longer and more

cylindrical than those of knotroot. Leaf blades are

wider in the annual species and rhizomes are present

only in knotroot. Several other bristlegrasses occur in

the Southeast, but knotroot is the only southern perennial.

Forage value of knotroot bristlegrass is limited by

its lack of abundance. Even in Florida, where it is

part of the “climax” vegetation, it produces scant

herbage. It is grazed during spring and summer

months but becomes unpalatable by fall. Knotroot

bristlegrass is considered a food plant for birds and

small mammals.

Range: California to Florida, extending north to

Kansas, Illinois, and Massachusetts.

Perennial. Culms cespitose or single, 40- 100 cm tall,

often geniculate at base, erect or decumbent, often

with short, knotty rhizomes: blades flat, strongly

ascending, long-attenuate, 5 -23 cm long, 4 - 7 mm

wide, glabrous below, sparsely pilose above; sheaths

glabrous with scarious margins; ligule membranous,

short-ciliate; inflorescence a spiciform panicle, dense,

yellowish to purplish, 1.6- 10.0 cm long, 7-8 mm

wide (excluding bristles); spikelets 2 - 3 mm long,

subtended by 8 to 12 bristles, a-flowered, the lower

floret neuter, upper floret perfect; first glum9 one-half

length of spikelet; second glume longer, with excurrent midrib; sterile lemma 5- to 7-nerved with welI

developed palea, fertile floret piano-convex 2 - 3 mm

long; lemma transversely rugose.

5 4

lcm I ,

b

Spike/et

S. G LAUCA
I

Yellow Indiangrass--Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash--(Sorghastrum auenuceum (Michx.) Nash)

Although yellow indiangrass is best known as a

component of tall-grass prairies, it occurs throughout

the southern pine region. Plants are among the tallest

grasses found on the range. Seedstalks average 4 to 5

feet but occasionally reach 8 feet. Foliage is mainly

basal, with leaves up to 18 inches long and ‘/z inch

wide. Plants spread by short, scaly rhizomes, often

forming large clumps.

This grass produces large plumelike panicles, varying from bright yellow bronze to dark brown bronze.

Panicles shatter quickly upon maturing; the plants

remain showy only briefly, usually from late September to early October.

In the absence of panicles, yellow indiangrass

superficially resembles switchgrass, big bluestem,

and other robust grasses. Yellow indiangrass is distinguishable by its conspicuous, straight, stiff auricles and bristly nodes.

Two other Sorghustrum species growing on longleaf pine-bluestem range also closely resemble yellow

indiangrass. Lopside indiangrass, S. secundum (Ell.)

Nash, is common on sandhills of west Florida and

south Georgia and in sandy pinelands of Alabama. As

the name implies, its panicles, in contrast to the relatively symmetrical ones of yellow indiangrass, are

one-sided. Slender indiangrass, S. elliottii (Mohr)

Nash, grows throughout the South, mainly on sandy

sites. Its flower stalks, in contrast to the relatively

stiff ones of yellow indiangrass, are weak and nodding, and the spikelets are chestnut brown. Lopside

and slender indiangrass lack rhizomes; both have

twice-bent awns about 1 inch long, while awns of yellow indiangrass are bent once and are ‘/ to 3/4 inch

long.

Yellow indiangrass is an excellent forage plant.

Because it is highly palatable and scarce on most

ranges, it is usually overgrazed, even under moderate

use. On heavily grazed ranges, it is confined to

brushy areas that cattle cannot readily penetrate.

Managing for a high yield of this grass therefore

appears impractical.

Range: Eastern United States, extending west to

Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, and North Dakota.

Perennial. Cuhns glabrous with hairy nodes, 1.0 - 2.5

m tab, in loose tufts from scaly rhizomes; sheaths

glabrous or papillosepubescent, often hairy in the

throat; ligule 2 - 4 mm long, thick, stiff, conspicuous,

between straight, stiff auricles; blades 5- 10 mm wide,

sometimes glaucous, scabrous, elongate: panicle narrow, exserted, nodding at the apex, bronze to golden

brown and shining, branches villous, shattering early;

sessile spikeletfertile, 6 - 8 mm long, hirsute, the awn

once-geniculate, 1 .O - 1.5 cm long; pedicellate spikelet

wanting, the villous pedicel one-half to one-third the

length of the fertile spikelet.

tiobif

55
Curtiss Dropseed-Sporobohs cutiissii (Vasey) Small

This small bunchgrass is found most commonly on

southeastern pine flatwoods sites where it grows in

close association with pineland threeawn. It grows as

dense tufts or small bunches that remain partly green

in winter. On pinewiregrass range of south Georgia,

Curtiss dropseed provides more cattle forage than

any other grass during fall and winter but is grazed

less than pineland threeawn during spring. Although

it thrives on frequently burned range, it withstands

smothering by litter in the absence of fire.

On closely grazed range, Curtiss dropseed may be

mistaken for pineland threeawn; both have narrow

leaves and grow in clumps. Leaf blades of Curtiss

dropseed, though narrow, are flat, compared to the

almost round blades of pineland threeawn. This distinction is noted in another common name for Curtiss

dropseed, “flatleaf wiregrass.”

Florida dropseed, Sporobolus floridanus Chapm., is

a common associate of Curtiss dropseed and pineland

threeawn on pine flatwoods. It is a more robust grass

than Curtiss dropseed, with basal leaves about ‘/4

inch wide and up to 20 inches long. Stalks are up to 3

feet tall, with the narrow, open panicle occupying the

upper half. Panicles are diffusely branched with a

single spikelet at the top of each branch.

Range: Coastal Plain, central Florida to North

Carolina.

Perennial. Culms slender, 30- 70 cm tall; sheaths

pilose at throat; blades light green, flat or folded,

about 1 mm wide, pilose on the upper surface near the

base; panicle pyramidal, 15 - 25 cm long, open,

branches stiffly ascending; spikelets appressed along

the branches, distant, bronze or purplish, about 4.5

mm long: glumes about equal, as long as or longer

than lemma.

Spikelet

56
R’at- tail Smutgrass-Sporobolus indicus (L.) R. Br.-(Sporoboluspoirettii (R. & S.) Hitchc.)

Smutgrass is a perennial grass common throughout the southern states, and can usually be identified

by its long, narrow seed heads, which are often blackened by smut resulting from infection by the fungus,

H8elminthosporium ravenelii Curt. Introduced into

the southern United States and South America from

tropical Asia, smutgrass has become a serious weed

of improved pastures in sandy Coastal Plains soils

across the South. It is common along roadsides,

tmils, and in recreational areas, apparently thriving

under adverse conditions.

Cattle seldom eat smutgrass, especially after the

flower stalks are formed. Plants not infested with the

black fungus produce abundant tiny seeds that are

eaten by birds and small mammals.

Range: Texas and Oklahoma to Florida and Virginia.

-

Perennial. Culms erect, 30 - 100 cm tall, glabrous;

blades 15-55 cm long, 1.5 -3.0 mm wide; sheaths

glabrous, longer than internodes, junction with blade

obscure; ligule a ring of very short hair; panicle spikelike but interrupted, 10 - 40 cm long, 3 - 6 mm thick:

spikelets 1.5 - 2.0 mm long; seed naked, reddish.
Pineywoods Dropseed-Sporoboh junceus (Michx.) Kunth

Pineywoods dropseed is a bunchgrass, with basal

tufts arising from short, scaly rhizomes. In light herbaceous cover it may form large dense clumps. Where

grass is dense, bunches are usually small, often consisting of only a few slender tufts. Foliage is mostly

basal. Leaf blades are long, slender, blue green, and

practically hairless. They often fold lengthwise,

becoming almost tubelike in cross section. Thus, the

leaves may superficially resemble longleaf pine needles. Flower stalks are 1 to 2 feet tall. They end in distinctive yellow- to brown-bronze, narrowly conical

panicles that are usually 4 to 6 inches long and about

one-third as wide.

Until inflorescences appear, pineywoods dropseed

resembles cutover muhly. The latter is distinguishable by its prominent, white, pointed ligule, and by

fragments of old basal foliage, which persist as a tangled mat of straw-colored fibers. The ligule in pineywoods dropseed is barely visible, and fibers of basal

sheaths are nonpersistent.

Pineywoods dropseed rates fair as a forage grass.

Its leaves become tough by midseason; thus, palatability is low during summer and fall. Herbage often

remains green well into the winter. Although nutritive content is low during winter, cattle are attracted

by the green color, and they may eat large amounts.

On a Louisiana range where this species was only 1

percent of the ground cover, it provided 3 to 5 percent

of the yearly diet. In January and February, it supplied about 10 percent of the grazing.

Range: Coastal Plain, Texas to Florida and Virginia.

Perennial. Culms 30 - 100 cm tall, erect, rigid, slender, in smaIl clumps, leafy at the base, naked above,

from short, scaly rhizomes; sheaths glabrous,

strongly overlapping; ligule a smooth or ciliated short

membrane; blades 2-4 mm wide, 2-25 cm long,

folded or involute with a thickened, pointed apex,

glabrous, base of lower blades with setaceous margins, the upper blades short and far below the panicle;

panicle 2-5 cm wide, lo-20 cm long, lanceolate,

with several sets of verticillate, spreading branches

spaced at regular intervals; spikelets 2.5 -3.5 mm

long, acute, lanceolate, green, purple, or bronze in

color; glumes of unequal length; lemma and palea

thin, free from the seed; seed ovoid, brown, 1.5 - 2.0

mm long.

Young plant

Inflorescenre detc

./ GRAIN

I

3mm

Spikelet

58
Pinebarren Tridens--Tti’dens ambiguus (Ell.) Schult.

Pinebarren tridens grows on moist flatwoods sites,

particularly where moderate to heavy grazing prevents accumulation of a heavy rough. It is commonly

associated with slender bluestem, both on cutover

lands and under open pine canopies.

Leaves are mostly basal, usually with one or two

small tufts per plant. They are generally pale green,

but the upper surface is sometimes gray-green.

Blades are about l/s inch wide and up to 12 inches

long. Except for conspicuously hairy leaf collars, the

foliage is hairless. Flower stalks 2 to 3 feet tall sup

port open panicles that bear small, orange-tan to purplish spikelets. Panicle branches characteristically

point upward at an angle of less than 45” from the

main axis. Spikelets measure l/s to 94 inch long, each

with four to seven flowers. Spikelets are round in

cross section when immature but become flattened

with age.

Pinebarren and other tridens grasses may be mistaken for lovegrasses (Erugrostis spp.) because of the

several-flowered, flattened spikelets. The genus Tridens is characterized by lemmas with three hairy

nerves that project beyond the margin of the lemma

tip, while the lemma of Erugrostis has hairless nerves

which do not extend past the margin.

Several species of Tridens grow on southern pine

ranges. Purpletop, T. flauus (L.) Hitchc., is a robust

perennial occupying old fields and timbered sites. It

is distinguishable by its large panicles with drooping

branches and dark purple spikelets. Longspike tridens, T. strictus (Nutt.) Nash, inhabits wet sites. Its

dense, spikelike panicle differs distinctly from the

open inflorescence of other common tridens grasses.

Also, its spikelets have glumes longer than the lowest

florets. Carolina tridens, T. carolinianus (Steud.)

Henr., is a rhizomatous species, infrequent on moist

sandy sites, with an inflorescence similar to that of

pinebarren tridens. In both, mature spikelets are

slightly flattened in cross section and !4 inch or more

long.

Young foliage of pinebarren tridens is grazed in the

spring and early summer. Because plants are widely

scattered and foliage is sparse, this species contributes little to the yearly diet of cattle. After the panicles emerge, plants are grazed sparingly, if at all. The

spikelets emit a distinctive pungent odor that may

account for the low palatability of mature plants.

Range: Coastal Plain, Texas to Florida and South

Carolina.

Perennial, Culms 60- 100 cm tall, from a knotted

base, slender, erect; sheath flattened, shorter than the

internodes, glabrous; ligule a conspicuous ring of

hairs; blades pointed, flat or slightly involute, the

upper short, the lower long, but not exceeding the

extended panicle; inflorescence a loose, tan or purplish panicle 8 - 20 cm long with ascending branches;

spikelets 4 - 6 mm long, 3 - 4 mm wide, 4- to ‘I-flowered, flattened; florets conspicuously pilose on the

lower half; lemma with three prominent veins forming short teeth at the apex; palea with a conspicuously bowed keel.

59
GRASSLIKE PLANTS

Because they superficially resemble grasses, members of the sedge family (Cyperaceae) and rush family

(Juncaceae) are known as grasslike plants. They are a

minor part of the vegetation on most upland pine forest sites, but several species grow abundantly on

poorly drained soils.

The sedges most closely resemble grasses; both the

sedge and grass families belong to the order Graminales. Their flowers are in spikelets and lack regular

sepals and petals, each flower being subtended by

bracts or scales. In most sedges, the stems are solid

and triangular in cross section, with leaves threeranked; grass stems are more or less cylindrical and

leaves are in two ranks. Sheaths of sedge leaves are

closed tubes that encase the stem. In all but a few

grasses, sheaths are open. A minor technical difference distinguishes the one-seeded sedge fruit, an achene, from the grass fruit, a caryopsis.

Rushes are related more closely to lilies than to the

grasses. Despite their morphological similarity to lily

flowers, rush flowers appear grasslike, with sepals

and petals that are small and chaffy or membranous.

Although flowers may occur in dense heads, or glomerules, each is a separate unit with three sepals, three

petals, and reproductive parts. The fruit is a capsule

with many seeds. Stems may be rounded or flattened

and pithy or hollow. Unlike grass stems, rush stems

are not jointed. Rush leaves are mostly basal and not

distinctly two- or three-ranked, as in grasses and

sedges.

Grasslike plants are important in the cattle diet

only on wet sites. Forage value is generally inferior to

that of grasses. Cattle graze both rushes and sedges

in spring and early summer but usually avoid them in

late summer and fall Since the plants often remain

green well into the winter, cattle may again seek them

after frost kills back other herbage.

60
Blue Sedge-Carex complanatu Torr. & Hook.

Blue sedge plants are stiffly erect and 3 feet tall or

less. They form many-stemmed clumps from knotty

rootstocks, growing mostly on upland sites in association with bluestem and panicum grasses.

Flowers are unisexual, with male flowers found

only basally on the uppermost spike; the remainder of

tbis spike is comprised of female flowers. The uppermost spike is the only mixed spike; spikes below this

are made up of only female flowers, and usually there

are no more than four of these female-only spikes. The

spikes are densely flowered, I/ to 1 inch long, and

about % inch wide. Bracts subtending each flower

give the spikes a bristly appearance. The sac (perigynium) enclosing individual female flowers is flattened, with obtuse or rounded tips.

Leaves are stiff and erect, with blades, about %6

inch wide. Although a few hairs are scattered on the

leaf sheaths, plants generally appear smooth and

hairless. Basal sheaths are purplish or reddish brown.

Leaves seldom exceed the inflorescence, but one or

two leaflike bracts may surpass the upper spike.

Although plants are often numerous, they produce

little herbage. Hence, blue sedge seldom contributes

significantly to the cattle diet.

Frank sedge, Curex frunkii Kunth, on moist hardwoods sites, and southern sedge, C. gkzucescens EU.,

on pine-hardwoods uplands, are common throughout

the South. Both have leaf blades !4 to % inch wide.

Blades of southern sedge have a gray-green upper

surface; this coloration is lacking in Frank sedge.

Southern sedge is the taller of the two, but both may

exceed 2 feet in height.

Range: Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri to Georgia

and Pennsylvania.

Perennial. Stems 30 - 120 cm tall, stiff, erect, usually

in small dense clumps from short, knotty rhizomes;

le!aves stiffly ascending; blades 2 - 4 mm wide, elong,ate; basal sheaths purplish to brownish red, older

sheaths becoming fibrous at base of stem; infloresc

ence of two to five spikes, the terminal spike stamin,ate at base, pistillate above; other spikes pistillate;

spikes 8 - 15 mm long, 5 - 7 mm thick, the terminal

spike usually longest: flowers subtended by lanceolate, scarious-margined bracts; staminate flowers

with three stamens; pistillate flowers with an ovary

enclosed in a beakless, flattened, ovoid perigynium

about 2 mm long: fruit an achene 1.5 - 2.0 mm long,

triangular in dorsal outline, acute-ellipsoid in lateral

outline.

I

-WALE FLOWfRS

Icm

+FEMILE SPIKE8

1

Imm

(TOP VIEW

FnJtt

.OWERI

61
Lurid Sedge-Curex Zuridu Wahl.

Lurid sedge grows 1 to 3 feet tall in wet woods or

swampy sites, forming dense clumps from stout scaly

rhizomes. The inflorescence consists of two to five

spikes, the uppermost with male flowers and those

below with female flowers. Both male and female

spikes are ‘/z to 3 inches long. Male spikes are only

about ‘/s inch in diameter, while the female spikes

exceed ‘/z inch. Flowers appear early in spring, the

spikes persisting through the growing season.

Leaves are about !A inch wide and 15 inches long.

Stems are leafy throughout. The upper leaves, as well

as the leaflike bract below the inflorescence, usually

exceed the inflorescence in height. Leaf blades are yellow green; basal parts of the lowest leaf sheaths are

purplish.

Individual clumps of lurid sedge produce as much

herbage as many of the grasses. Because plants are

seldom abundant, except on very wet sites, this spe

ties is not important for forage.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Canada.

Perennial. Stems glabrous, 20 - 100 cm tall, in dense

clumps from short, stout rhizomes, usually bending

somewhat under the weight of the spikes; leaves 2 - 7

mm wide, 30 - 40 cm long, pale green or yellow green,

glabrous, upper leaves exceeding inflorescence; inflorescence a terminal staminate spike with one to four

pistillate spikes below; staminate spikes 1 - 7 cm long

and 2 - 3 mm thick: pistillate spikes burlike, 1 - 7 cm

long, 1.5 - 2.0 cm thick; individual flowers subtended

by lanceolate bracts; staminate flowers with three

stamens; pistillate flowers with ovary enclosed in

ovoid, beaked perigynium 6 - 9 mm long, 2.5 - 3.0

mm thick; fruit an obovoid, 3-angled achene 2;O - 2.5

mm long.

6 2
Green Flatsedge-Cyperus virens Michx.

Green flatsedge often grows in small colonies on

wet sites and in small low areas on otherwise welldrained soils. Plants spread vigorously from long,

thick rhizomes, normally reaching about 2 feet in

height but sometimes exceeding 3 feet.

A,s in all Cyperus species, a whorl of leafy bracts

subtends the green flatsedge inflorescence, exceeding

it in height. In the immature inflorescence, flatness of

the individual spikelets is obscured by the density of

the clusters. As the spikelets develop, however, new

flowers form at the tips, and the lower, mature flowers fall. Thus, by midsummer the inflorescence consists of loose clusters of distinctly flat spikelets borne

on naked stalks. Mature spikelets are about !/i inch

wide and less than l/s2 inch thick. Spikelet length

depends on maturity, ranging from about ‘/4 inch in

you.ng inflorescences to % inch at maturity. Each

flower of the spikelet produces a straight, narrow

achene about l/16 inch long.

Leaves are all basal. They are about % inch wide at

the base, abruptly narrowing to about ‘/e inch, then

tapering gradually to a fine point. Blades ascend

stiffly, reaching 2 feet or more in length. Near their

bas’es, leaves are loosely coated with a mat of fine

hairs; otherwise, plants are hairless. Small warty

lumps often appear between veins of the blades, giving the leaves a knotty appearance.

Although green ,flatsedge is common, it is unimportant as forage. The foliage is not readily eaten by

cattle, and the seed apparently has little value for

wildlife.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Kansas, Ivlissouri, Illinois, and New Jersey.

-

Perennial. &apes to 1 m tall, forming clumps or colonies from stout rhizomes; leaves basal, ascending,

elongate, usually exceeding the inflorescence, the

base 4 - 7 mm wide and woolly-pubescent; blade glabrous on upper surface, 1 - 2 mm wide, gradually narrowing to tip; inflorescence an umbel of spikelet clusters, subtended by an involucre of leaflike bracts,

peduncles unequal in length; spikelets 3 - 4 nun wide,

up to I4 mm long; fruit a linear achene up to 1 mm in

length.

I

Jmm

Spiketei/two views)

Cfusfer of spirtrtots

Habit

63
Annual Spikesedge-Eleocharis microcurpa Torr.

Annual spikesedge inhabits wet meadows and

swampy areas. It grows in small clumps with many

hairlike flower stalks averaging 6 inches high. Each

stalk ends in a single ovoid, several-flowered spikelet

about ‘/s inch long. Spikelet scales are pale with a

papery texture. The inconspicuous basal leaves

resemble the flower stalks but are usally shorter.

The fruits are barely visible to the naked eye. With

magnification, they appear ovate in outline. They are

three-angled in cross section, with prominent ribs.

The persistent base of the style forms a green cap

(tubercle) at the apex.

Flowers appear in spring and seeds mature in early

summer. Seeds germinate in late winter, and plants

begin growth before most grasses. Cattle may graze

this early herbage; otherwise annual spikesedge has

little forage value.

Another annual, conecap spikesedge, Eleocharis

tubercubsu (Michx.) R. & S., resembles annual spikesedge in size and general appearance, but is distinguishable by its large tubercle, which equals the seed

in size. Hairsedge, Bulbostylis cupillaris (L.) C. B.

Clarke, another smaJl fine-stemmed annual, is recognizable by its cluster of brown ovoid spikelets at the

branch tips.

Range: Coastal Plain, Louisiana to Florida and

Virginia.

Annual. Stems slender, 4-angled, 5 -30 cm tall, in

small, many-stemmed tufts: leaves reduced to slender

basal sheaths around the flower stalks; inflorescence

a terminal spikelet, lanceolate to oblong or ovate,

2 - 7 mm long, 1 .O - 1.5 mm thick, several-flowered,

lower flowers falling when mature; flowers enclosed

by scarious-margined scales; fruit a 3-angled, obovoid

achene, 0.5 mm in diameter with a minute warty

tubercle at the top.

1

Icm

\

1

Imm

Spike/et

64
Common Umbrella-Grass-hirena scirpoidea Michx.

Common umbrella-grass, or umbrella-sedge, is a

perennial sedge found on lake shores, low pinelands,

and fresh water marshes of the Coastal Plain. Stalks

about 1 foot tall arise in early spring from slender

rootstocks, usually forming colonies. Stalks are

unbranched and leaves are few and reduced to

sheaths only. From one to four bristly spikelets terminate each stalk. Hairy umbrella-grass, Fuirena

squamsa Michx., occurs southwide in ditches and

marshes. It is hairy, not strongly rhizomatous, and,

unlike common umbrella-grass, has leaf blades.

Although cattle graze the young growth of common umbrella-grass readily, the scant foliage provides little forage for grazing animals.

Range: Coastal Plain, Louisiana to Florida and

Georgia.

Perennial. Stems 20 - 60 cm tall, unbranched, rhizomatous; leaves reduced to sheaths only, with oblique

margins; spikelets solitary or in clusters of two to

four, 8 - 12 mm long, scales pubescent, 3 - 4 mm long

with a short subulate tip, blades of the perianth

scales ovate, about 1 mm long rounded at base: fruit

an oval-rhombic or somewhat obovoid achene, about

1 mm long.

Ilcm

I

lcm

65
Pinehill Beakrush-Rhynchospor globular-is (Chapm.) Small

Pinehill beakrush may be the most common sedge

on southern pine-blue&em range. It grows most

abundantly on poorly drained flatwoods or other wet

sites but is also a common associate of bluestem

grasses on drier soils. Its brown seed heads often

dominate the landscape in late spring or early summer before most grasses produce seedstalks.

Plants grow in small tufts with erect basal leaves 4

to 12 inches long and */1s to % inch wide. There are

one to several seedstalks per plant, and the range in

height is from 6 inches to over 3 feet. Leaves are

mainly basal, but a few reduced leaves are borne on

the stalk up to the base of the inflorescence. Stalks,

erect when young, recline as plants mature.

The inflorescence consists of spikelet clusters on

branches arising from the axils of upper leaves. Each

branch divides into a compound head, with each bran-

&let supporting a compact cluster of spikelets.

Although a spikelet has several flowers, seldom will

more than one fruit mature. Spikelets are rusty

brown and about Ya inch long. The fruit, about 1h

inch long, is a hard, oval, wrinkled achene, slightly

flattened, with the remnant of the style forming a

pointed cap or “beak.” A whorl of bristles, somewhat

shorter than the fruit, arises from the base of the achene.

On some sites, pinehill beakrush provides up to 3

percent of the annual cattle diet. Beakrush seeds are

considered good quail food.

Other common beakrushes on southern pine range

are cluster beakrush, Rhynchospom glomemta (L.)

Vahl, common beakrush, R. fascicularis (Michx.)

Vahl, and big beakrush, R. cephulanthu Gray. All are

widely distributed in the Gulf and Atlantic Coastal

Plains, where they are found on wet or moist sandy

sites. They can be separated from pinehill beakrush

and from each other by glomerule and spikelet characteristics as shown in the accompanying illustrations. Nodding beakrush, R. inexpansu(Michx.) Vahl,

another common species across the South, has spike

lets .in loose, nodding clusters. Homed beakrush, R.

corniculatu (Lam.) Gray, is a common large plant

growing in ditches or other wet sites. The inflorescence is profusely branched, with few spikelets in each

of numerous clusters. The brown spikelets are mrrow, tapering to a bristle-tipped apex. The fruit has a

beak that is commonly longer than the body of the

fruit.

Range: Coastal Plain, New Jersey to Florida and

east Texas, extending inland to Tennessee, Missouri,

and Oklahoma.

Perennial. Culms glabrous, to 1 m tall, reclining as

flowers mature; leaves glabrous, mainly basal, 2 - 5

mm wide, up to-35 cm long; cauline leaves reduced,

the uppermost bractlike, subtending and exceeding

inflorescence branches; inflorescence a terminal cyme

66

I

I

lmm

lcm

Fruit

and one to six lateral, often distant, cymes; cyrn~

l.O- 3.5 cm in diameter, branches terminating ir

glomerules of many crowded spikelets; spikelett

2.5-4.0 mm long, broadly ovoid to subrotund, sev

eral-flowered but maturing only one or two fruits

fruit an achene, 1.3 - 1.6 mm long, 1.2- 1.5 mm wide;

tube&e 0.3-0.6 mm high, deltoid-conical; bristle

one-half to three-fourths as long as achene.
Fringed Razorsedge-Sckria ciliata Michx.

Fringed razorsedge is a common but seldom abundant sedge found on sandy pinelands of the Coastal

Plain. It is a perennial, with stems 10 to 25 inches

long arising from knotty rhizomes, nodding at maturity under the weight of the terminal inflorescence.

Stems are triangular with several leaves arising from

the base and lower half of the stem. The inflorescence

consists of one to three clusters of spikelets; clusters

may consist of staminate or pistillate flowers, or

both. The white, bony, naked fruit is a distinguishing

characteristic of the razorsedges. The fruit of fringed

razorsedge is globose, about Us inch in diameter, and

roughened with bony ridges.

Other razorsedges with wide distribution in coastal

states are little razorsedge, S&ria georgiana Core,

whip razorsedge, S. triglomemtu Michx., and annual

razorsedge, S. reticularis Michaux. Vegetatively,

these other razorsedges resemble fringed raxorsedge,

ahhough sixes vary. Little raxorsedge is simihu in

size, but the fruits are smooth with longitudinal

ridgeq viable fruits are dark and sterile fruit are

white. Whip and annual razorsedges are more robust

plants. Fruits of whip razorsedge are smooth, shiny,

and bright white: those of annual razorsedge may

behairy.

Razorsedge fruits are germ&y classed as desirable food for quail, doves, and other birds. Fringed

raaorsedge fruit is considered an important quail food

across the South. Annual Bfruitisapre

ferred food of bobwhite quail and mourning doves in

southern Florida. Plants of all species are generalIy

too sparse to be valuable aa forage for deer or live-

&O&.

Rangi: Texas and Missouri, extending east to

Florida and Virginia.

Perennial. Cuhns tufted, from knotty rhizomes, 3-

angled, 30 - 60 cm long, leaves glabrous or pubescent,

to 20 cm long, 1 - 7 mm wide; inflorescence of two to

thrse terminal or axillary cymes, each with few spike

lets 1 - 3 cm long; spikelets unisexual, few-flowered;

achenes globose, white, verrucose, 2 - 3 mm in diame

tier.
Twinflower Rush-Juncus biflorus Eli.-(included withJ. marginatus Rostk. by some recent authors)

Although not abundant, twinflower rush is conspicuous at maturity because of its tall flower stalks

and large brown seed heads. It grows mainly in

ditches, along shores, or in other low, wet, usually

sandy, open sites. Flower stalks 2 to 4 feet tall are

produced in spring from coarse rhizomes. Inflorescences, appearing almost simultaneously with the

stalks, are 2 to 8 inches long, but usually about 4

inches. They are profusely branched, the branches

ascending at angles of 45” or less. Flowers are numerous, small, and brown. Usually two or more are borne

at each branch tip and in the axil of each branch. At

maturity, normally in May, seed capsules are spherical. Authors who list both Juncus bifZorus and J.

margin&us consider J. marginatus a less robust form

without rhizomes.

Basal leaves are about ‘/4 inch wide and up to 12

inches long. Upper leaves are somewhat reduced.

Lower leaves usually turn brown before seeds mature.

Young leaves provide some early green forage for

cattle, but the plant is not abundant enough to contribute appreciably to the diet.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Massachusetts, southern Michigan, Illinois, Missouri,

and Oklahoma.

Perennial. Stem 60- 130 cm tall, forming loose

clumps from scaly rhizomes; leaves of lower stems

4 - 7 mm wide and 15 - 30 cm long, the upper about

half the size of the lower; XIorescence a cyme 5 - 20

cm long, branches ascending; flowers 1.5 - 3.0 mm in

diameter, in clusters of two to several at tips and in

axils of inflorescence branches; sepals three, acuminate; petals three, blunt, scarious-margin& fruit a

capsule, equaling the perianth.

66
Common Rush-Juncus effisus var. solutus Fem. & Wieg.

Common rush, also called rice rush and soft rush,

grows in swamps, along stream banks, or on other

wet sites. It is represented by several varieties

throughout the United States, but only the variety

so&us occurs in the South.

Plant height averages 3 feet, but may reach 6 feet.

Numerous round seedstalks arise from a stout rhizome to form dense clumps. The leaf is a brown

sh.eath that encircles the seedstalk to a height of

about 5 inches. The blade is reduced to a minute bristle at the sheath tip. Leathery rush, Juncus coriaceus

MacKenzie, which is also common southwide, has

elongate leaf blades terminating some sheaths and a

few-flowered, usually branched, inflorescence.

Flower clusters appear to emerge from one side of

the flower stalk. Actually, the inflorescence is terminal, subtended by a single, erect bract that may be

misidentified as a continuation of the stalk. Common

rush is apparently the only southern freshwater rush

with this characteristic.

When fully expanded, usually by May 1, the freely

branching inflorescence is about 5 inches long. The

many small flowers are single, each producing a cap

sular fruit that yields many tiny seeds.

New leaves and stalks of common rush are nutritious and palatable, but because of its scant foliage,

this species provides little forage.

Range: Throughout the United States and Canada.

Perennial. Stems to 2 m tall, from stout rhizomes,

forming dense clumps; leaves, the lower reduced to

reddish brown basal sheaths, the upper including a

slender scalelike blade 1 mm long; inflorescence a

tednal cyme 1 - 12 cm in diameter; flowers borne

smgly on cyme branches; sepals three, acuminate,

about 2 mm long; petals three, acuminate, approximately equaling sepals; fruit a capsule, equaling or

slightly shorter than the perianth.

Details of mature flower

Basal sheaths

69
Needlepod Rush-Juncus scirpoides Lam.

Needlepod rush grows on riverbanks and in shallow ponds, swamps, and wet pinelands. It forms open

clumps of slender stalks 1 to 3 feet tall, arising from

thick, whitish rhizomes. Two or three leaves are

spaced along the stalk, the uppermost subtending the

inflorescence. Leaf sheaths, about 1 inch long, are

split throughout their length. Blades are round in

cross section, with hollow cores divided into chambers by regularly spaced partitions that impart a

ribbed appearance to the surface. Leaves are about 4

inches long. They drop early, leaving a short stub.

Inflorescences, when fully expanded, are about 3

inches long and 1 inch wide. Flowers are in heads that

may be arranged in either a terminal cluster or in two

distinct clusters, one terminal and the other 2 to 3

inches lower on the stem. Heads are each about IA

inch in diameter and number up to five per cluster.

One head per cluster is attached directly to the stem;

the others are on short stalks.

Needlepod rush resembles whiteroot rush, Juncus

bruchycarpus Engelm., and the two frequently occur

together. The seed capsule of needlepod rush ends in a

sharp beak that extends beyond the tips of the flower

petals and sepals; the short-beaked capsule of whiteroot rush is exceeded by the floral bracts.

Because of its dearth of foliage, needlepod rush has

little forage value.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, and New York.

Perennial. Stems erect, 30 -80 cm tall, from stout

rhizomes; leaves terete, 1 - 2 mm in diameter, 5 - 15

cm long, conspicuously septate; sheaths open and

slightly inflated, with a conspicuous auricle; infloreso

enceacyme3-15cmlongby2cmwide,with4to15

spherical heads, each 5 - 12 mm in diameter, 15- to

40-flowered; sepals three, rigid, lance-subulate, about

3 mm long; petals three, similar to sepals but slightly

shorter; fmit a subulate capsule, equaling or usually

exceeding the perianth.

Mature flower

STUMP OF LEAF

SWOLLEN RI~QES

I

mm

J. brochycorpua

Habit

70
Poverty Rush-Juncus tenuis Willd.

Poverty rush, known also as hemp rush and wiregrass rush, grows along trails, in yards, and in other

places with heavy traffic. It starts growth in late winter, producing small, dense clumps. Mature stalks

reach about 2 feet in height. Leaves are mostly basal,

usually less than l/32 inch wide and about half as tall

as the flower stalks. Flowers appear in early spring

and seeds mature in April or May. Inflorescences

rarely exceed 3 inches in length and 1 inch in width.

Flowers, about Vi to 3/1s inch in diameter, are borne

singly. Leaflike bracts subtend the inflorescence.

They are long and narrow, extending above the

uppermost flower.

Poverty rush resembles another low-growing rush,

Juncus dichotomus Eli., which grows mainly on

undisturbed sandy sites. Whereas leaves of poverty

rush are flattened, those of J. dichotomus are almost

cylindrical. In poverty rush, a membranous auricle

extends beyond the summit of the leaf sheath; the

short, rounded auricle of J. dichotomus is barely perceptible. Because the leaves of both species are narrow, magnification helps in detecting these differences.

Poverty rush is seldom grazed except in winter

when better herbage is unavailable. It supplies little

forage on most sites.

Range: Throughout most of North America.

Perennial. Stems in clumps, lo-60 cm tall; leaves

basal, about one-half the height of stems, 0.5 - 1.0

mm wide; sbeatb with scarious margin; auricle scarious, 1 - 3 mm long; inflorescence a cyme 1.5 - 15.0

cm long, subtended by involucral bracts that often

exceed the cyme; flowers 3 - 5 mm in diameter, borne

singly at tips and in axils of ascending branches of

cymes; sepals and petals lance-subulate, scariousmargined, equal in size; fruit a capsule, usually

exceeded by the perianth.

Young plant

!.,A

Mature flow0

Habit

71
Roundhead Rush-kncus validus Coville

Roundhead rush grows mainly in swales, drainages, and sandy flatwoods. It forms loose, leafy

clumps of stems 2 to 3 feet tall. Although it is not

generally abundant, its large, stiff inflorescence is

conspicuous.

Flower stalks emerge in midspring and seeds

mature by early summer. The inflorescence branches

as it grows, often spreading to a foot or more at maturity. Spherical flower heads, about 1% inch in diameter, are scattered throughout the inflorescence.

Leaves are mostly basal, the largest about 12

inches long and ‘/ inch wide. They are slightly flattened, hollow, and segmented by internal partitions

that impart a knotty feel to the surface. This “knotleaf” characteristic is common to several species,

however, including needlepod rush. The flattened

leaves of roundhead rush superficially resemble those

of blue-eyed-grass, Sisyn’nchium spp., but the knotty

blades are useful in distinguishing the species before

flower stalks appear. The larger but closely related

flatleaf rush, Juncus polycephalus Michx., has

strongly flattened leaves and its capsules are capped

by a solid beak, not split at the tip as in roundhead

rush.

Cattle graze roundhead rush in late winter and

early spring, but rushes generally provide little forage.

Range: Texas to Mississippi and Missouri.

Perennial, Stems erect, 30-80 cm tall, from short,

knotty rhizomes; leaves 2-7mmwide,up’to40cm

long, conspicuously septate; sheaths scarious-margined, terminated by lanceolate auricles 2 -4 cm

long; inflorescence an open, widely branching cyme

up to 50 cm wide, with spherical, many-flowered

heads at branch tips and in axils; heads 1.0 - 1.5 cm in

diameter; flowers with sepals and petals equal, lancesubulate, 4 - 6 mm long; fruit a lance-subulate capsule, exceeding the perianth.

(glomrrulr)

Moture flower

/

SWOLLEN RIDGES

- AURICLE

MEMBRANOUS

SHEATH MARGIN

.-

Leaf detoil Habit

7 2
FORBS

The term “forb” as used in this handbook and in

rlmge management generally, refers to herbaceous

plants other than grasses (family Gramineae) and

grasslike plants (families Cyperaceae and Juncaceae).

Some use the term “weed” for such plants, but the

word has a noxious connotation; a forb (or grass or

grasslike plant) becomes a weed where its presence is

not welcome, as in a lawn, garden, flower bed, or soy

bean field.

Forbs are numerous on southern pine ranges, occasionally comprising up to 20 percent of the ground

cover. They may add variety to the forage supply,

provide food and cover for wildlife, and improve the

soil. Some are more tolerant of shade or’plant compe

tition than others. On the average, forbs furnish

Legumes

The legume family (Leguminosae) is economically

one of the world’s most important plant families. It

includes peas, beans, peanuts, and many valuable

pasture plants-especially the clovers Vrifolium spp.,

Medicugo spp., Melilotus spp.). Legumes vary widely

in life form, from annual forbs to trees over 100 feet

tall. Although they are generally characterized by

compound leaves, irregular pealike flowers, and seed

pods that split longitudinslly when ripe, these features are far from universal. Some legumes have simple leaves, several have symmetrical flowers, and

about 4 percent of the cattle diet. Because many spe

ties surpass grasses in protein, phosphorus, and calcium content, the quantity consumed is not a reliable

indication of their contribution to cattle nutrition.

Several forbs are toxic, but cattle poisoning is

infrequent. These toxic plants are usually tmpalatable; moreover, they seldom are abundant enough to

cause trouble. With rare exceptions, cattle consume

poisonous species in lethal quantities only on overgrazed ranges.

Although forbs representing dozens of plant families are found in the South, the most common species

on longleaf pine-blue&em range are legumes (Leguminosae) and composites (Compositae).

pods of some species remain closed at maturity.

Native legumes are numerous on southern pine

ranges but usually comprise a small part of the total

forage. Legume herbage is rich in protein; thus, small

quantities may appreciably improve the diet. Most

herbaceous legumes are palatable to cattle, but a few

species- Nuttall wildindigo, for example-are grazed

sparingly, if ever.

Seeds of many legumes are favorite foods of wildlife. Several species are grown in cultivated food

patches to improve quail habitat.

73
Nuttall Wildindigo-&ptisia nuttu~~iuna Small

Nuttall wildindigo is a bushy, herbaceous perennial growing from large woody rootstocks. It is

most common in south-central Louisiana and southeastern Texas. Mature plants are usually 2 to 3 feet

tall. On dry sites that are heavily grazed and frequently burned, Nuttall wildindigo is often an abundant understory plant. It seldom occurs on open

cutover sites, probably because of grass competition.

New growth emerges in late winter while most

other forbs are dormant. Plants bloom in the spring

and mature in early summer, turning blue black (indigo) at maturity. Pale yellow flowers are in terminal

racemes or solitary in leaf axi& commonly, these

arrangements are mixed. Leaves are palmately compound with three oblanceolate or elliptical leaflets 1

to 3 inches long.

Several other wildindigos, also called false-indigos,

occur throughout the South but most have limited

distribution. Others with ranges extending west of

the Mississippi River and which apparently intergrade with Buptisia nuttulliuna and each other are:

whitestem wildindigo, B. bmcteata var. hevicaulis

(Gray ex Canby) Isely-a low-growing plant with

drooping terminal racemes of yellow flowers; round

wildindigo, B. spherocarpa Nutt.-an upright branching plant with several to many erect terminal racemes

of yellow flowers; and Atlantic wildindigo, B. Zuctea

(Raf.) Thieret-(B. Zeucantha T. & G.) an upright,

branching plant with an elongated terminal raceme of

white flowers.

Species whose ranges are east of the Mississippi

River include pineland wildindigo, B. Zunceokzta

(Walt.) Ell., with leaflets 2 to 4 inches long and single

yellow flowers in the upper leaf axils, and yellow wildindigo, B. tinctoria (L.) R. Br., a small-leaved, erect,

often bushy plant with yellow flowers terminating

the tallest branches. B. tinctoria has been used for

medicinal purposes in the Appalachian region as a

tonic or purgative.

Only one species, Atlantic wildindigo, is reported

as poisonous to livestock, but any species should be

suspect if abundant. The seeds of Buptisia have limited value for wildlife food.

Range: East Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and

western Mississippi.

Perennial. Stems 40- 100 cm tall, much branched

-‘from thick rhizomes; leaves trifoliolate, stipulate;

leaflets 2 - 6 cm long, cuneate to obovate-cuneate,

rounded or notched at the apex, glossy above, dull

beneath, with scattered pubescence; flowers papilionaceous, solitary in upper leaf axils or 1 to 12 in

racemes at the tips of leafy branches; calyx 8 - 10 mm

long, campantiate, silky pubescent; corolla pale yellow; keel about 15 mm long; standard with reniform

74

blade 1.2 - 1.8 cm broad; legume pubescent, subglobose, long-stipitate, thickwalled and woody with a

long, slender beak (style), the body 1.0 - 1.7 cm long;

seeds many, about 2.6 mm long, bean shaped, yellow

brown, smooth.
Showy Partridgepea-Cassiu fusciculuta Michx.

Showy partridgepea is an annual that grows on a

variety of sites throughout the eastern United States.

It is common on disturbed areas, often forming extensive colonies along firelines, roadside ditches, and in

old fields.

Height is usually about 2 feet, but ranges from 6

inches to 3 feet. In years of normal rainfall, the bright

yellow flowers appear continuously through most of

the growing season. The leaves are pinnately compound, usually with 10 to 15 pairs of leaflets. A small,

dark, saucer-shaped nectary, or honey gland, is

located on the leaf petiole slightly below the lowest

pair of leaflets. Seed pods are less than 3 inches long.

Plants differ widely in several characters, particularly size and pubescence, and several varieties have

been named. Cussia fusciculatu var. bruchiutu (Pollard) Pullen ex Isely, grows on wet sandy flats and

other moist pinelands of south Alabama and Florida.

Largest plants reach 8 feet in height, leaves have up

to 25 pairs of leaflets, and the pod may be 4 inches

long.

Sensitive partridgepea, CT nictituns L., a smooth

small-flowered species, is common throughout the

Gulf Coastal Plain. It resembles showy partridgepea,

but the flowers are much smaller and have 5 stamens

compared to 30 in showy partridgepea. Cussia usperu

Muhl. is a small-flowered partridgepea common on

sandy pine sites of the Atlantic Coastal Plain from

Florida to South Carolina.

Howering&-anc h

Cussiu deeringiuna (Small and Pennell) J.F.

Macbr., a perennial partridgepea with long horizontal

rootstocks, is found on sandy scrub oak sites in Florida, southern Alabama, and southwestern Georgia.

The perennial plant is similar to, and may be mistaken for, showy partridgepea. C. deeringiunu is

essentially hairless, and the annual C.. fuscicukztu is

usually noticeably hairy; the rootstock on C. deeringiuna, however, is the most reliable distinguishing

character.

Although showy partridgepea foliage is highly

nutritious, it is listed as a poisonous plant and should

be considered potentially dangerous to cattle (Kings

bury 1964). The seeds are readily eaten by quail and

patches are widely cultivated in the South to augment natural food supplies. Periodic burning favors

all partridgepeas.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to South

Dakota, southern Ontario and Massachusetts.

Annual. Stems 15 - 100 cm tall, from a taproot, gla- lary fascicle; pedicels 1 - 2 cm long; sepals lanceolate,

brous to densely puberulent to villous; leaves even- 9 - 12 mm long, acute; petals bright yellow, almost

pinnate, sensitive, with nectaries near the middle of equal, 1 - 2 cm long; stamens 10, unequal, 10 - 13 mm

the petiole; leaflets 12 to 36, linear-oblong, 1.0-2.5 long; legume elastically dehiscent, 3 - 7 cm long, 6 - 7

cm long, 2-6 mm wide, inequilateral; stipules per- cm broad, glabrate or appressed-puberulent to viisistent, striate; inflorescence a l- to 6-flowered axi& lous.

75
Butterflypea-Centrosema virginianurn (L.) Benth.

This showy, twining, herbaceous legume is common on well-drained sites throughout the southern

states. The flowers are flattened, almost circular,

pink, and about 1 inch wide. The slender pods, averaging about 4 inches long, are produced throughout

the summer. Leaves are pinnately compound with

three, usually ovate, leaflets up to 3 inches long.

Upper surfaces of leaflets are reticulately divided by

veins paler in color than areas between the veins.

Butterflypea is closely related to Atlantic pigeonwings, which is also called butterflypea, in some plant

books. Flowers of both differ from the typical legume

flower by having the larger petal (standard) beneath

the other flower parts. The two can be separated by

calyx (sepal) characteristics; the calyx tube of Centrosema virginianurn is shorter than the lobes, while

that of Clitoriu mariunu is longer than the lobes. The

twining habit of butterflypea can also be used to distinguish the two. While foliage of both may appear

hairless, butterflypea usually has fine short white

hairs on stems, petioles, and upper leaf surfaces.

Because of its limited abundance, butterflypea has

essentially no value as forage for livestock and deer.

The seeds are eaten readily by bobwhite quail and

other birds and small mammals.

Runge: Texas and Arkansas, extending east to

Florida, then north to Tennessee and New Jersey,

. Perennial. Stems herbaceous, trailing or twining, to

1.5 m long, minutely pubescent throughout; leaves

trifoliolate, leaflets ovate to oblong or elliptic, reticulate, 2 - 7 cm long and 0.5 - 3.0 cm wide, stipellate;

stipules ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, striate,

1.5 - 4.0 mm long, persistent; inflorescences axilliary;

on peduncles 2 - 4 cm long, flowers one to three, pedicellate, pedicels and flowers subtended by stipule-like

bracts; calyx tube broadly hemispheric, 4- 5 mm

long, lobes linear-subulate, 0.6 - 1.4 cm long; corolla

pale blue violet to lavender, the standard 2-4 cm

long, spurred near base; legume linear, flattened,

7 - 14 cm long, 0.3 - 4.0 mm broad, lo- to 20-seeded,

with a persistent, beak-like style; seeds black, 2 -3

mm long.

76
Atlantic Pigeonwings-Clitoniz marianu L.

Closely related and similar to butterflypea, Atlantic pigeonwings occurs on dry sites throughout the

South, often in association with butterflypea and various tickclovers (Desmodium spp.). Early vegetative

growth of CZitoria, Centrosema, and several of the

larger, ovate-leaved tickclovers require careful scrutiny. All have stipels; Clitoris and Centrosema also

have conspicuous stipules. Growth form as expressed

in later growth is useful for separation: Clitoris is

erect or trailing, Centrosema is twining, and Desmodium is usually erect. Both Clitoris and Centrosema

have showy flowers ranging from blue to purplish or

sometimes almost white.

Although Atlantic pigeonwings is not generally

abundant enough to be considered a valuabie forage

or wildlife food source, quail, turkeys, doves, and

other birds use the seed for food.

Range: Arizona to Florida, extending north to

New York, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and

Iowa.

Perennial. Stems erect or trailing, glabrous to shortpubescent; leaves pinnately 3-foliolate; leaflets entire,

ovate, lanceolate, ovate-oblong, or elliptic, 2 -7 cm

long, glabrous above and glabrous or occasionally

short-pubescent beneath, stipellate; stipules ovate

lanceolate to lanceolate, 2 - 4 mm long, tardily deciduous, striate; racemes axillary, peduncles 0.5 -4.0

cm long, l- to 3-flowered; pedicels glabrous or rarely

short-pubescent, 4- 10 mm long, each subtended by a

triangular to lanceolate, striate bract 1- 3 mm long

and with a pair of linear bractlets 3- 6 mm long at or

near the summits; calyx usually glabrous or rarely

short-pubescent, somewhat bilabiate, tube cylindric,

1 - 2 cm long, upper lobes widely triangular, acute,

4 - 6 mm long, lateral lobes ovatelanceolate, acuminate, 5 - 7 mm long, lowermost lobe lanceolate, acuminate, 6 - 8 nun long; petals pale blue or lavender,

the standard spurless, 4- 6 cm long, 3- 4 cm wide;

stamens monadelphous; legume flattened, oblong-linear, 3 - 6 cm long; stipe elongate, 1 - 2 cm long; seeds

sticky.

km

ffobit

77
Arrow Crotalaria-Crotalaria sugittalis L.

Arrow crotalaria is an annual or a short-lived perennial seldom more than 15 inches tall. It is most

common on dry sandy or gravelly soils, especially on

disturbed sites. The lower leaves are elliptical and

about 1 inch long, whereas upper leaves are lanceolate

and up to 3 inches long. Arrowhead-shaped stipules

give stems a winged appearance. Flowers, which

usually appear from June through September, are

small and yellow, resembling those of garden peas.

The inflated pods are about 1 inch long and half as

broad.

Several other crotalarias resemble arrow crotalaria

in flower and pod characteristics, but only Crotdaria

purshii DC. has the same long narrow leaves. The

principal difference between the two is that stems

and sepals of arrow crotalaria have conspicuous

spreading hairs, while those of C. purshii have

obscure hairs pressed flat against the stem or sepal.

Some taxonomists consider C. purshii a regional variety of arrow crotalaria. The crotalarias are often

called rattleboxes, since the loose seeds rattle in the

mature pod. Showy crotalaria, C. spectabilis Roth,

and slenderleaf crotalaria, C! breuidens Benth. (formerly C. inter-media Kotschy), are two robust annual

weeds on agricultural lands. Showy crotalaria has

wide simple. leaves and slenderleaf has trifoliolate

leaves with narrow leaflets.

Arrow crotalaria is poisonous to livestock. Because

plants are usually scarce, however, they rarely constitute a threat to cattle.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to South

Dakota and Massachusetts.

0 cm

-0’

lcm

(5wPED#wewsE

OFAN *R-*0 3

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A,@ EXTENDINS As

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F

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Fruiting branch

Annual or weak perennial. Stems 10 -40 cm tall,

simple to bushy branched, loosely villous to hirsute;

basal leaves simple, small, oval; upper leaves linearoblong to lanceolate, the larger 3 - 7 cm long, 8 - 15

mm wide; stipules inversely sagittate, decurrent;

flowers papilionaceous, two to four on terminal or

axillary peduncles 1 - 4 cm long; calyx 10 - 12 mm

long, 5-cleft, loosely villous or hirsute; corolla 8 - 10

mm long, yellow; legume 1.5 - 3.0 cm long, about 1

cm thick, strongly inflated, dull brown; seeds 2.3 - 3.0

mm broad, obliquely reniform.

73
Tickclovers-Desmodiumspp.

The tickclovers, also called beggarlice, sticktights,

or ticktrefoils, are so named because the flat, minutely bristled fruits stick to clothing and animal hair.

About 15 species, all perennials, occur throughout the

South. Leaflet length of southern tickclovers varies

from less than YZ inch to 6 inches, and leaflet shape

varies from narrowly linear to ovate or round. Flowers are similar among most species and fruits are necessary for identification. Flowers are pealike, less

than ‘/2 inch long, and pink to purple (some white).

The fruit is a flat jointed pod that may remain intact

at maturity or break apart to become the familiar

“ticks” or “beggarlice.”

Desmodium may be confused with Lespedeza in

the vegetative state, but the two are readily distinguishable when in the flower or fruit stages. Tickclovers have a pair of stipels at the base of the terminal

leaflet and a single stipel at the base of each lateral

leaflet. Stipels are lacking in lespedezas.

Although tickclovers are nutritious and palatable,

the plants are seldom abundant enough to yield much

livestock forage, although most are high-use deer

food plants. Seeds are valuable quail food.

Littleleaf tickclover, Desmodium ciliare (Muhl. ex

Willd.) DC., probably the most cormnon and thus

most important tickclover in the South, is illustrated

as an example and described below.

The similar rigid tickclover, D. rigidum (Eli.)

DC., also grows southwide. It can be distinguished by its leaflets, which are long-ovate

instead of blunt-tipped, and unequal in size, the

terminal longer than the laterals. Roundleaf tickclover, D. rotundifolium DC., and sand tickclover, D.

Zineatum DC., are prostrate, trailing species common

on dry pinelands throughout the South. Other species

common southwide are smooth tickclover, D. Zuevigaturn (Nutt.) DC., Maryland tickclover, D. marihzdicum (L.) DC., panicled tickclover, D. paniculatum (L.)

DC., and velvetleaf tickclover, D. viridifolium (L.)

DC.

Range (Littleleaf tickclover): Texas and Nebraska

to Florida and Michigan.

Perennial. Stems 40- 100 cm tall, slender, usually

spreading-pilose; leaves trifoliolate; stipules linearsubulate, 2 - 4 mm long, quickly deciduous; leaflets

ovate to orbicular, pilose, terminal leaflet 1 - 3 cm

long; stipels apiculate; flowers papilionaceous, small,

rose purple, in large terminal raceme% fruit a loment

with one to three articles, 4.0 - 5.6 mm long, 2.7 - 4.0

mm wide, covered with short, stout hooks.

PAIR OF STtPEW AT SASC

OF TER MIN AL LEAFLET

- PAIR OF STIPULES AT MSE OF LEAF

Lletd of 1eaJ w4

79
Downy Milkpea-Gahdz uoZubi2is (L.) Britt.

The milkpeas, like the tickclovers, are a group of

legumes whose seeds are recognized as choice food for

the bobwhite quail. Downy milkpea is fairly common

southwide. Shapely milkpea, Galactiu regularis (L.)

BSP., a trailing plant, and erect milkpea, G. erecta

(Walt.) Vail, the only species that is not trailing or

twining, are also found on sandy sites throughout the

South. Leaves of most species are pinnately compound with three leaflets, although G. elliottii Nutt.,

a species of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, has five to

nine leaflets.

Downy milkpea is a twining or climbing herbaceous vine with sparsely to densely pubescent stems.

Leaflets are ovate, ‘/t inch to 1% inches long. Flowers

are pealike, pink to rose, less than ‘/t inch long. The

fruit is a flattened seed pod, up to 2 inches long and ‘/s

inch wide, covered with short white hairs.

The species is variable throughout its range, and

the separation of G. volubilis and G. regularis is difficult in some areas, leading some botanists to suspect

that the two belong together in one widespread, variable species. Galactia macreei M. A. Curtis, a southwide milkpea, is similar and possibly not distinct

from downy milkpea. While the latter usually has

spreading hairs on the sterns and fruit, G. macreei has

appressed, short pubescence.

Range: Eastern Texas and southern Kansas to

Florida and Long Island.

Perennial. Stems twining or climbing, sparsely to

densely spreading-pubescent; leaves pinnately trifoliolate rachis 2 - 18 mm long; leaflets oblong, oblongovate or elliptic, 2 - 4 cm long, glabrous or nearly so

above, and glabrate to spreading pilose beneath;

racemes with peduncles and rachises sparsely to

densely spreading short-pubescent, 3 - 15 cm long;

calyx tube 2.0 - 2.5 mm long, lobes 2.0 - 3.5 mm long;

petals pink to roseate, the standard 7 - 10 mm long;

legume 2.0 - 5.5 cm long, 4 - 5 mm broad, spreading

short-pubescent; seed mottled, 2 - 3 mm long.

lcm

80
Common Lespedeza-Lespedeza sttiutu (Thunb.) H. & A.

Common lespedeza, or Japanese clover, is an

annual forage legume native to Asia. Following its

introduction into Georgia more than 100 years ago, it

escaped cultivation and spread rapidly across the

South. Now it is common on dry, open, closely grazed

range and rarely found under timber stands. Several

other Asian lespedezas have been introduced into the

United States, particularly in the South, for forage,

erosion control, and wildlife food plantings. Shrubby

species like bicolor lespedeza, Lespedeza bicolor

Turcz., are widely planted for bobwhite quail food.

Plants of common lespedeza are usually less than 1

foot tall. Stems are many-branched and decumbent,

or they may be prostrate if grazed closely. Leaves are

trifoliolate, the obovate to nearly elliptical leaflets %

to 1 inch long. Leaflet veins are conspicuous, with

straight, parallel laterals extending outward at about

45” from the midrib. Flowers are of two kinds, with

and without corolla, and are borne singly or in clusters of two to four in upper leaf axils. Corollas of

complete flowers are pinkish and about 1% inch long.

Several native lespedezas also grow on sandy pine

sites. Among the most common are hairy lespedeza,

L. hirtu (L.) Homem., and slender lespedeza, L. uirginicu (L.) Britt. Hairy lespedeza is distinguishable by

its height, which reaches 4 feet, and its large leaflets

-up to 2 inches long and an inch wide. Slender lespe

deza is a slen&r, usually tmbranched plant with

small, narrow, crowded leaves. A prostrate species,

creeping lespedeza, L. repens (L.) Bart., is common on

sandy sites throughout the South. AJl native species

are perennial but collectively make up only a small

percentage of the forage available.

Lespedezas may be confused with tickclovers.

Both have trifoliolate leaves subtended by stipules

and their flowers are similar. They can be distinguished readily by their seed pods. Lespedeza pods

are short, oval, usually one-seeded, and intact at

maturity, while those of tickclover are elongate and

break into two or more one-seeded segments at maturity. Lespedezas also lack the stipels that subtend

tickclover leaflets. Separation by vegetative characteristics is described under the discussion of Desmodium.

Like most pasture legumes, common lespedeza is

nutritious and palatable but seldom abundant in

range vegetation. It is often an important constituent

of seeded firebreaks on forest ranges. The ability to

produce seeds under close grazing makes common

lespedeza a reliable source of food for quail, which eat

both seeds and spring leaves.

Range: Texas and Florida, extending north to

Kansas and Pennsylvania.

I

5mm

fndekscen,

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I

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Floweri* branch

Annual. Stems decumbent, lo-40 cm tall, diffusely

branched, retrorsely pubescent; leaves pinnately trifoliolate; stipules 4 -6 mm long; leaflets shortpetioled, oblong-obovate, 1 - 2 cm long, striate; flowers of two kinds, apetalous ones mixed with complete

pinkish ones in axils, one to four on short peduncles;

legume a flat, l-seeded pod barely exceeding the persistent calyx.

81
Hairy Rhynchosia-Rhynchosia difformis (Ell.) DC.

Hairy rhynchosia, or hairy snoutbean, is a trailing

or twining perennial herbaceous vine with ovate leaflets. Most leaves are trifoliolate with terminal leaflets

about 1 I/ inches long and almost round. Lateral leaflets are smaller, and length exceeds width. Basal

leaves often develop only a single leaflet. Although

differences among leaves are alluded to in its specific

name diffomis, meaning “two forms,” several rhynchosias have this character.

Stems arise from tuberous rootstocks and may

reach 3 feet. They are erect when young but become

trailing or twining as they elongate. Inconspicuous

yellow flowers about % inch long are in shortstemmed axillary clusters.

Species that may associate and intergrade with

hairy rhynchosia include broadleaf rhynchosia, Rhynchosia lutifolia Nutt. ex Torr. & Gray-found only

west of the Mississippi River-and erect rhynchosia,

R. tomerkosa (L.) H. & A. Whereas the axillary

racemes of hairy rhynchosia are about 2 inches long,

those of broadleaf rhynchosia may be up to 12 inches.

Erect rhynchosia, which grows southwide, is upright

and has only trifoliolate leaves, with softly pubescent, ovate to elliptic leaflets. Least rhynchosia, R.

minima (L.) DC., a trailing, twining plant with small

flowers and usually small leaflets, is common on siltyclay alluvial soils of the lower Coastal Plain from

Texas to Georgia.

Although hairy rhynchosia is abundant, the plants

are too scattered to produce much forage. Quail,

doves, and other birds eat the seeds.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Missouri and Virginia.

Perennial. Stems from long tuberous roots, erect at

first, then trailing and twining, to 1 m long, densely

retrorse-hirsute on the angles, lightly pubescent

between; leaves of two kinds, the basal ones simple,

reniform, those above trifoliolate; leaflets elliptic to

broadly ovate, 2- 5 cm long, the terminal larger,

sparingly pubescent on both sides; flowers in short,

dense, axillary racemes, 2 -4 cm long; corollas yellow, 5 - 11 mm long; legume 1.5 - 2.0 cm long, 8 mm

wide; seeds lenticular, 2.5 - 3.0 mm in diameter, dark

brown.

82

Flower+ branch

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Habit
Dollarleaf Rhynchosia-IUgmchosiu reniformis DC.

Dollarleaf rhynchosia is a small, erect perennial

found throughout the Gulf Coastal Plain. It is most

abundant on sandy sites. Stems are 3 to 9 inches tall,

growing from slender, woody rhizomes. Leaves are

simple or rarely trifoliolate, round to kidney shaped,

and average 2 inches in diameter. Both surfaces are

sparsely to densely pubescent. Small, yellow, pealike

flowers are borne in both terminal and axillary clusters. Pods are about !A inch long and densely hairy.

Dollarleaf rhynchosia is readily distinguishable

from related species and most other plants by its

large, round, simple leaves. Young plants are grazed

by cattle, and seeds are eaten by quail and other

birds.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to

North Carolina.

PereMial. Stems erect, densely pubescent, from long

slender rhizomes, 5 - 25 cm tall, hirsute on the angles

with spreading or reflexed hairs; leaves simple, the

blades 2 - 5 cm long, 2 - 8 cm broad, orbicular to reniform, strongly reticulate, resin-dotted with appressed

pubescence on veins; flowers in short, dense axilhuy

or terminal racemes 2 -3 cm long calyx 8- 10 cm

long; corolla yellow, about 7 mm long; legume flat,

oblong, about 1.5 cm long, and 6 mm wide, obscurely

falcate, pubescent, resin-dotted; seeds lenticular,

about 3 mm broad, brownish, mottled with black.

L

Ha6it

83
Catclaw Sensitivebrier-&hrankia uncinata Willd.-(S. nuttullii (DC.) Standl.)

Catclaw sensitivebrier is a close relative of the silktree, Albiziu julibrissin Duraz., commonly called “mimosa,” and the acacias. Its spherical rose pink flower

heads resemble miniature silktree heads.

Catclaw sensitivebrier is a spiny, sprawling, perennial herb usually found on dry sandy soils west of

the Mississippi River. Many prostrate stems 3 to 4

feet long arise from a large woody rootstock. Flowering begins in late spring and continues through the

summer, or as long as stem growth continues. Leaves

are bipinnately compound, with four to eight pairs of

first-division units, called pinnae. Each pinna has 8 to

15 pairs of oblong to elliptical leaflets % inch to over

% inch long which fold when touched.

A similar species, Schrunkiu hystricinu (Britt. &

Rose) Standl., with a stout, bristly pod no longer than

1 X7 inches, apparently replaces catclaw sensitivebrier

in east Texas and southwest Louisiana. Another sensitivebrier likely to be encountered southwide is littleleaf sensitivebrier, S. microphyylhz (Dryand.) Macbr.

These species differ primarily in leaflet venation :

both-S. uncinutu and S. hystricinu have conspicuous

lateral veins, but littleleaf appears to have only a

midrib.

Cattle graze the tender twigs in early spring before

the spines harden. Nutritive value is high; protein

content of new growth reportedly reaches 45 percent.

Plants are seldom abundant enough to contribute

greatly to the cattle diet. This species is generally

considered more important as an indicator of good or

improving range condition than as a forage producer.

Deer browse the stems and leaves, and quail eat the

seeds.

Range: Texas to Alabama, extending north to

Nebraska, Illinois, and North Carolina.

Perennial. Stems elongate, decumbent, angled,

prickly, to 1 m long; leaves bipinnate, 6 - 15 cm long,

sensitive; pinnae 4 to 8 pairs, 2 - 5 cm long; leaflets 8

to 15 pairs, oblong-elliptic, 3.5 - 9.0 mm long, veins

prominent; flowers in spherical, long-peduncled, axillary heads 2.0- 2.5 cm in diameter; pods linear,

strongly thorny-ribbed, 4 - 12 cm long, with a slender

beak at the apex.

8 4
Perennial Wildbean--Strophostyles umbellatu (Muhl. ex Willd.) Britt.

The wildbeans are trailing herbaceous vines whose

seeds are considered desirable wildlife food, especially

for bobwhite quail and turkey. Perennial wildbean is

classified as a choice wildlife food plant. Two annual

species, trailing wildbean, or amberique bean, Strophostyles heluola (L.) Ell., and slickseed wildbean, S.

Zeiosperma (T. & G.) Piper, are not as highly valued,

perhaps due to a general lack of abundance.

Perennial wildbean grows on sandy soils of the

pineywoods, usually twining among the grasses and

other ground vegetation. It is conspicuous by its

unlobed trifoliolate leaves with narrowly ovate to

lanceolate or oblong leaflets and elongate inflorescence staIks, which exceed the leaves. Flowers have a

short ribbed bractlet at the base of the calyx.

Trailing wildbean has broader leaflets, usually

with basal lobes. It commonly grows on open sites

along rivers but may be found growing with perennial

wildbean. The inflorescence stalks, similar to those of

perennial wildbean, are usually longer than 6 inches.

The floral bractlet is about equal in length to the

calyx.

Slickseed wildbean is a smaller, hairier species

found from Alabama westward to the plains of Texas

and northward to Colorado, Minnesota, and Indiana.

Inflorescence stalks are less than 4 inches long.

Range: Texas and Oklahoma to Florida, extending

north to southern New York.

Perennial. Stems trailing or twining, to 2 m long, the

younger portion densely pubescent: leaflets ovate,

lanceolate to elliptic or oblong, unlobed, 2 - 5 cm long,

glabrous or nearly so: racemes axillary, peduncles

lo-25 cm long with few to several capitately clustered flowers; calyx tube 2.0- 2.5 mm long, subtended by obtuse, striate bracts 0.1 mm long or less;

corolla pink or pale purple, often fading yellowish, the

standard 1.0 - 1.4 cm long; legume sparsely

appressed-pubescent, 3.0 - 6.5 cm long, about 4 mm

broad; seeds 3 - 6 mm long.

I

lcm
Pencilflower-Stylosanthes biflora (L.) BSP.

Pencilflower is a small perennial, common on welldrained sites throughout the South. Plants vary

widely in height, branching habit, size and shape of

leaflets, and hairiness.

Plants seldom exceed 12 inches in height, and are

inconspicuous except for the pencil-yellow pealike

flowers that appear throughout the growing season.

Flowers, 1/4 to ‘/z inch long, are in short, tight spikes

at branch tips. Pods are small and inflated, with a

sterile, stalklike basal article. Leaves are trifoliolate

with elliptical leaflets about % inch long.

Without flowers, pencilflower resembles other

small-leaved legumes, especially lespedezas and tickclovers. It is distinguishable, however, by leaf characters, the veins on the underside of the leaflets being

distinctly lighter in color than the blade and conspicuously thickened. Veins of lespedezas and tickclovers

are relatively slender, and their color resembles that

of the blade.

The seeds are eaten by quail and turkey. The leaves

and stems are nutritious and palatable to cattle, but

plants are small and usually widely scattered, and

forage yield thus is negligible.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, and New York.

Perennial. Stems lo-40 cm tall, stiff, erect, branching or unbranched, finely pubescent to long-hirsute,

often bristly at the summit; leaves trifoliolate; stipules sparsely to densely bristly, narrow, united with

the petiole for about two-thirds of their length; leaflets narrowly lanceolate to elliptic, subulate-tipped,

1.5-4.0 cm long, margins entire to bristly ciliate;

flowers papilionaceous, on a stalklike hypanthium;

calyx glabrous, early falling; corolla yellow with pink

veins on the back, fruit a loment, 4 - 5 mm long with

one to two articles, the terminal one turgid, thinly

hairy, reticulate with an incurved beak (style), the

basal one undeveloped, stalklike.

8 6

Pod-ind

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6 ir

Habit
Weak Tephrosia- Tephrosia onobrychoides Nutt.

Weak tephrosia is a reclining perennial that grows

from a woody rootstock. It is common on sandy soils

of the western Gulf Coastal Plain. Stems may branch

several times, with each branch terminated by an

elongate stalk of white to reddish-purple flowers. The

upper half of the stalk is leafless. Flowers normally

appear in May or June, and continue flowering into

August if rainfall is adequate. The flat, hairy pods, 2

inches long or less, have up to 10 small black seeds.

Leaves are pinnately compound with 11 to 25 linearoblanceolate leaflets.

Weak tephrosia’s range overlaps that of brownhair

tephrosia from southeast Louisiana to Alabama. Foliage of weak tephrosia is grayish green in color and

the “weak” flower stalks do not stand stiffly erect as

do those of brownhair tephrosia. As its name implies,

the pubescence of brownhair tephrosia is noticeably

more rust colored, and the leaves average fewer (9 to

17) leaflets.

Cattle graze young growth on recently burned or

heavily used range, but older foliage is usually

rejected. Seeds are eaten by quail.

Range: Texas to Oklahoma to southern Missouri

and Alabama.

Perennial. Stems pubescent to strigose with rusty

hairs, erect to decumbent from a stout, woody crown

and woody taproot; leaves odd-pinnate, 8-22 cm

long, on a petiole 7 - 35 mm long; leaflets of the principal leaves 11 to 25, linear-oblanceolate and slightly

broadened upward, 1.5 - 5.5 cm long, 4 - 16 mm wide,

the apex obtuse, rounded or truncate, emarginate,

glabrous to pubescent above, more or less silky-pilose

with gray to rusty hairs beneath; flowers 15 - 20 mm

long in long terminal or axillary racemes much

exceeding the foliage: corolla white, becoming crimson in age, pink or purple upon drying; legumes

straight or slightly curved downward, 3.5-5.0 cm

long, 4 - 5 mm wide, pubescent; seeds 3 to 10, 3 - 5

mm long, smooth and mottled with black.

Icm

1

icm PLnnateCy compound lest

fruitbg trranch

8 7
Brownhair Tephrosia- Tephrosia spicata (Walt.) T. & G.

Stems of brownhair tephrosia arise from a woody

taproot and may be erect to 2 feet tall, or they may be

sprawling. Stems and leaflet lower surfaces are rust

colored and covered with spreading tawny hairs. Like

other tephrosias, brownhair is not classed as valuable

forage or wildlife food; bobwhite quail and other birds

eat the seeds, but its general lack of abundance limits

its value.

Brownhair tephrosia is most common east of the

Mississippi River. Although its geographic range

overlaps that of weak tephrosia, the two species are

seldom found growing together. Leaflets of brownhair are generally larger and fewer in number than

those of weak tephrosia. The reddish-brown color of

the stem and lower leaf surface is more pronounced in

1 brownhair tephrosia.

In south Florida, brownhair tephrosia grows in

dwarf clumps about 1 foot in diameter. Leaves and

leaflets are about half the size of those of typical

plants, and lower leaf surfaces are reddish brown in

color, although plants of the south Florida form are

generally less hairy. This form was formerly separated as var. semitonsa Fern. by some authors.

Range: Louisiana, eastern Tennessee, and Kentucky to southern Delaware, southeastern Virginia,

and Florida.

Perennial. Stems 30 - 60 cm long, decumbent to erect

from a cylindric taproot, densely pilose or occasionally sparsely appressed-pubescent; leaves 4 - 12 cm

long; leaflets 9 to 17, oblong-obovate to obovate or

elliptic, 1 - 3 cm long, 6 - 14 mm wide, glabrous to

finely pilose above, somewhat appressed pubescent to

pilose below: inflorescences appearing opposite the

leaf or terminal, 4 - 60 cm long, usually longer than

the nearest leaf, erect or upwardly curving, pedicels

1 - 8 mm long; calyx 6 - 7 mm long, sparsely pilose to

villous; petals at first white, turning pink and then

carmine, 1.2 - 1.7 cm long; stamens diadelphous; legumes 3 - 5 cm long, 4 - 6 mm broad, sparsely to moderately pubescent.

I

lcm

south Florida torm lcn

88
Virginia Tephrosia --Tephrosia virginiana (L.) Pers.

Virginia tephrosia-also called catgut, goatsrue, or

devils-shoestring-is often the most abundant forb on

dry sandy sites that are periodically burned. Following fire, new shoots grow rapidly from woody rootstocks. Although leaves are similar to those of the

partridgepeas, pinnate with from 11 to 27 leaflets,

they end in a single leaflet (odd-pinnate), while partridgepea leaflets are evenly paired throughout (evenpinnate). Stems and the undersides of leaflets, espe

cially on new growth, are densely coated with gray

hairs. Plants may reach 20 inches in height and often

grow in clumps up to 30 inches in diameter. Flowers

are produced in terminal clusters in spring, but

spring or summer burning may prolong flowering.

The corolla of the pealike blossom consists of one

cream to yellow petal and three rose petals. Pods are

about 2 inches long and covered with gray hair.

Virginia tephrosia often grows in association with

weak or brownhair tephrosia, or one of the other eight

species recognized across the South. It is the only

species, however, with erect simple stems and terminal inflorescences, and is usually found on drier

sites than most other tephrosias.

Cattle rarely eat Virginia tephrosia, even on heavily grazed range. The seeds rate fair as quail food,

being taken mainly when other food is scarce.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Minnesota and Massachusetts.

Perennial. Stems 30 - 60 cm tall, pubescent to villous,

erect or ascending from a branched woody crown and

long woody roots; leaves odd-pinnate, 6 - 10 cm long,

nearly sessile; leaflets 11 to 27, elliptic to linearoblong, 1 - 3 cm long, 4 - 8 mm wide, apex mucronate; flowers papilionaceous, bicolored; racemes compact, 4 - 8 cm long, leafy in the lower flowering nodes;

standard 14-21 mm long, lemon yellow to cream,

wings and keel rose; legumes 3 - 5 cm long, straight

to slightly curved, sparsely to densely strigose; seeds

6 to 11, bean shaped, 3.2 - 4.2 mm long, brown varie

gated with black.

,,
Composites

The composites-plants of the family Compositae

(or Asteraceae)-are well known for their showy flowers. Chrysanthemums, asters, daisies, and zinnias are

among the popular omamentals. Many native composites-sunflowers, goldenrods, and coneflowers, for

example-are also colorful. Although composites are

mainly herbaceous, the family includes several woody

species. These are represented in the South by the

shrubby genus Baccharis.

The characteristic composite “flower” is actually a

compact head of small, sessile flowers crowded on a

‘common receptacle and surrounded by overlapping

bracts. The corollas are of two general types: the five

lobed tubular type, or disk flower; and the flat, ligu

late type, or ray flower. Singly, or in combination,

disk and ray flowers produce three types of heads: the

discoid, with only tubular or disk flowers, represented

by the gayfeathers; the ligulate, with only ligulate or

ray flowers (usually with a “milky” sap), such as the

dandelions; and the radiate, with a central disk of

tubular flowers surrounded by a radiating ring of ray

flowers, exemplified by the sunflower or coneflower

head.

Composites are prolific seeders, and the seeds or

fruits of many are easily transported by the wind.

Hence, these plants are generally more abundant

than other forbs, especially on denuded sites where

seeds easily reach mineral soil.

On open pine-blue&em range, composites contribute up to 3 percent of the yearlong diet of cattle.’

While several species are valuable as forage, many

are worthless. A few species, such as bitter sneeze

weed, are poisonous.
Ragweeds-Ambrosia spp.

On moist sites throughout the South, especially

road ditches, annual plants of common ragweed,

Ambrosia artemisiifolia L., may form dense stands

with stems up to 8 feet tall. Foliage, especially when

crushed, is very pungent. Lower leaves are opposite,

becoming alternate above; blades are ovate in general

outline but deeply twice- or thrice-divided. Flowers

and seeds are produced on stalks arising from upper

leaf axils from late summer until frost. Staminate

flowers in numerous saucer-shaped heads about ‘/s

inch wide terminate the flower stalks. Pistillate

heads, fewer in number and below the staminate

heads, are enclosed in foliaceous bracts. Fruits are

about ‘/a inch long.

Western ragweed, A. psilostachya DC., a smaller

perennial of drier sites in the western gulf coast and

prairies, is similar, but the leaves are thicker and only

once-divided. Giant ragweed, or richweed, A. trifidu

L., similar to and as widespread as common ragweed,

is also an annual, usually on wetter sites than other

ragweeds, and may grow 20 feet tall. Its opposite,

palmately three- to five-lobed leaves distinguish it

from all other ragweeds. Lanceleaf ragweed, A. bidentata Michx., another annual found on pinelands, has

narrow leaves with a broad base and two lateral lobes,

each terminated by a tooth.

Ragweed foliage is normally unpalatable to cattle,

but when forage is scarce, it is sometimes eaten, producing a bitter taste in the milk. Plants sprayed with

2,4-D become palatable and accumulate nitrates in

toxic amounts (Kingsbury 1964). Common ragweed is

a high-use forage plant for white-tailed deer in spring

and summer. Deer also eat the leaves of giant ragweed, and seeds of all three species discussed above

are eaten by wild turkey and other birds. Ragweed

seeds are one of the most important quail foods in

volume consumed.

All ragweeds are considered principal contributors

to hay fever suffering throughout the South.

I

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I

lmm

/lower head

1 A. TRIFIDA

A. PSILOSTACHYA

u

A. ARTEMISIIFOLIA Hobir

91
Plantainleaf Pussytoes-Antennariaplantaginifoliu (L.) Richardson

Other names for this small attractive composite

are ladies-tobacco and indian-tobacco. It is similar

and closely related to the cudweeds (Gnuphalium

spp.). Plants are most common on dry sandy or rocky

soils in open woods or thickets. Runners just below

the soil surface produce a loose clump of stems 4 to 15

inches tall. Male and female flowers are borne on separate plants; female plants are taller than male

plants. When all stems in a clump arise from runners

of a single plant, all flowers are of the same sex.

Except for a basal whorl of paddle-shaped leaves

about 2 inches long and 1 inch wide, foliage is scant.

Leaves on the stalk are about 1% inches long and %

inch wide near the base, becoming gradually smaller

up the stalk. Stem and leaves are coated with short

gray hair.

Stalks are unbranched and terminated by a cluster

of many-flowered heads, each about ‘/4 inch in diame

ter. White-tipped bracts, resembling petals, surround

each head. Pappus bristles surrounding each flower

are also white-fringed. Floral parts and involucral

biacts often add a reddish or purplish tinge to the

otherwise white flower head.

Seeds of plantainleaf pussytoes are small and of

little value to wildlife. The rosette leaves, which form

in the fall and remain green through the winter, are

eaten by deer. Of several species occuring in the

South, plantainleaf is the most common and the only

one recognized valuable to wildlife.

Range: Texas to Minnesota and eastward.

Perennial. Stems from stolons; pistillate stems

lo-40 cm tall, staminate stems about 15 cm tall;

basal leaves 5 - 9 cm long, obovate, mucronate, minutely canescent above, densely so below, 3- to 7-

nerved: car&e leaves alternate, spatulate below, lanceolate or linear above, crowded below and about 4

cm long, becoming remote above and less than 2 cm

long; flower heads 3 to 30, corymbose to glomerulate,

10 mm or less in diameter; pistillate flowers about 7

mm high with glands on corolla tube; staminate flowers less than 5 mm, staminate pappus with white,

thickened tips; mature achenes 4.0 - 5.5 mm long.

f.

m m

1 u Flowers

Flower heads

92
Asters-Aster spp.

With approximately 100 species, the asters comprise the largest southern genera of composites. Most

are perennials, blooming in late summer and fall;

some produce flowers until the first frost. Though

seldom found growing in profusion, the asters provide rich fall color to the southern woodlands.

Characteristic flower heads consist of a central

disk of tubular yellow flowers surrounded by a whorl

of white, blue, or pink to purple ray flowers. The base

of the flower head is enclosed by several overlapping

whorls of bracts. Several of the most common southem asters are described below.

Skydrop aster, Aster patens Dryand. in Ait., is

common in dry open woodlands and clearings from

Texas and Florida to Minnesota and Maine. Height is

3 feet or less. The main stalk of the plant has ovateelliptical leaves 1 to 2 inches long, with bases clasping

the stem. Lateral branches, arising from upper leaf

axils, have leaves much smaller than those of the

main stalk. Flower heads are about 1 inch wide, with

purplish rays.

Silver aster, A. concolor L., inhabits sandy pinelands east of the Mississippi River and inland to Kentucky. Its flowers are similar to those of skydrop

aster but are arranged in racemes terminating ends of

unbranched stems. Plants are seldom more than 2

feet tall. Leaves are elliptic-oblong to lanceolate, up to

1 ‘/n inches long. Stems and leaves are somewhat silky

pubescent.

Bushy aster, A. dumosus L., grows to a height of

about 3 feet on a wide range of soils from Louisiana

north to Missouri and Maine. Flower heads are l/z to

94 inch wide, white to pale purple, scattered on the

profuse branches of the upper stem.

Because they are not generally abundant, asters

are practically worthless as cattle forage. As a group,

however, they are preferred food for deer, which eat

the’basal rosettes from autumn into spring and the

stems and flowerheads in summer and early autumn.

Although most abundant and robust on disturbed

sites, asters are not uncommon in stable plant communities on both timbered and cutover range.

ASTER PATENS

Ho&?
Yellowhead-Bigelowiu nudatu (Michx.) DC.--(Chondrophoru nudata (Michx.) Britt.)

Also called rayless goldenrod and naked chondrophora, this plant occurs on a wide range of soils and

sites, from deep acid sands to shallow calcareous

soils. It is most abundant on wet prairies of the pinewiregrass flatwoods. On sandy pine uplands, it occurs

infrequently, but is found in colonies, spreading by

rhizomes. Yellowhead is a slender perennial 1 to 2 feet

tall with alternate, spatulate leaves 2 to 3 inches long

and l/16 inch or less wide. Basal leaves may form an

early rosette or whorl, and may be slightly longer and

wider than stem leaves, which decrease in size going

up the stem. By flowering time, however, the outer

portions of leaves usually break off, leaving only narrow petiolar stubs. Stems are unbranched below the

flat-topped inflorescence. The narrow, essentially

bare stems, topped by greenish-yellow heads of flowers, give this plant a conspicuous and unique appearance.

A closely related species, Bigelowia nuttdii L. C.

Anderson (9. virgata (Nutt.) DC.), is similar but has

much finer, almost hairlike, leaves. Neither plant is

valuable as livestock forage or wildlife food.

Range: Coastal Plain, Texas to Florida and Virginia.

Perennial. Stems from woody caudex or rhizome, glabrous, 20 - 80 cm tall; basal leaves spat&ate to linearspatulate, 3 - 12 cm long, 2 - 6 mm wide at widest

point; stem leaves few, alternate, smaller than basal

leaves, reduced upward, blades early-deciduous; i&lorescence a flat-topped corymb of numerous flower

heads (involucres); heads cylindrical, 3- to 5-flowered,

6 -6 mm long, 1 - 2 mm broad, flowers all discoid,

yellow; achenes turgid, tapered from base to apex,

1.2 - 1.5 mm long, pubescent.

9 4

1 B. VIRGATA
Thickleaf Coreopsis -Coreopsis lanceolata L.

Thickleaf coreopsis, or “tickseed” as all species of

Coreopsis are also called, grows on a wide variety of

sites. Though rarely abundant, plants are conspicuous by their naked flower stalks and bright yellow

flowers.

Mature stems are usually less than 15 inches tall.

Stems and leaves are generally covered with downy

to stiff hairs. Leaves are opposite, narrow to broadly

lance shaped, and largely confined to the lower half of

the stalk. Early leaves form a basal rosette; with their

long, slender petioles, they often exceed 6 inches in

length. Upper leaves are without petioles and are distinctly smaller than the lower.

Flowering begins in April and continues through

the growing season. Heads have yellow disk and ray

flowers and are about 2 inches in diameter. The

toothed ray flowers are about % inch long.

Immature plants of lanceleaf gaillardia, Gaillardia

aestiualis (Walt.) H. Rock, resemble those of thickleaf

coreopsis, but are distinguishable by their alternate

leaves. After flowers appear, differentiation is easy,

as the disks of lanceleaf gaillardia are reddish purple.

Thickleaf coreopsis is of little value to livestock or

game animals. Other species common on southern

pine range include C. gkzdiata Walt., with narrow

oblanceolate leaves associated with wet sandy sites;

C. major Walt., with opposite, sessile, temately

divided leaves appearing as whorls of leaves at the

upper nodes; and C. tripteris L., with three to five

palmately divided leaves on petioles about 1 inch

long.

Range; Texas and Louisiana to Florida, extending

north to Wisconsin, Michigan, and Virginia.

Perennial. Stems 20 - 60 cm tall, from a woody caudex, branching near the base, glabrous, pubescent, or

villous; leaves mostly basal and petiolate, 5 - 20 cm

long, lo- 17 mm wide, lance-linear to spatulate,

entire, opposite, glabrous to villous; heads 4 -6 cm

broad, radiate, solitary, on elongate, naked peduncles; involucre double, the outer bracts linear-lanceolate, 6 - 8 mm long, the inner ovate, 0.8 - 1.3 cm long;

disk 1 - 2 cm broad, deep yellow orange, slightly convex; disk flowers on a flat, chaffy receptacle, 5 - 7 mm

long, fertile; rays eight, 15 - 30 mm long, 5 - 10 mm

wide, cuneate to obovate, deeply I-toothed, brilliant

yellow, sterile; achenes 2.5-3.0 mm long, compressed, orbicular, with thin, flat wings; pappus of

two minute, chaffy teeth.

Disk flower &y

a)7d cheU flower

f;t

zskm

Head of &k and ray ffowers

Brads on back of hesd

96
Hairy Elephantfoot--Elephantopus tomentosus L.

The name of this plant was inspired by a fancied

similarity of the large, prostrate basal leaves to an

elephant footprint. Basal leaves, which are elliptic to

obovate and up to 12 inches long and 4 inches wide,

are produced in early spring from a woody root

crown. Essentially leafless, branched flower stalks up

to 2 feet tall are produced from mid-summer to early

fall. Not more than one node and leaf is produced on a

stalk above the basal leaves. The entire plant is

densely hairy. The stalk is terminated by a branching

inflorescence, each branch with a terminal cluster of

purplish tubular flowers. Flower clusters are subtended by three ovate leaf-like bracts, and small

bracts subtend each branch of the inflorescence.

F+iry elephantfoot is common throughout the

Piedmont and Coastal Plain on a wide range of sites,

‘from bottomlands to sandhills. It is perhaps most

important as forage in open pine forests on flatwoods

sites of the longleaf-slash pine wiregrass type, but is

rated only fair at best. Because most of its foliage is

at ground level, it can tolerate heavy grazing.

Leafy elephantfoot, Elephantopus carolinianus

Raeusch., is common throughout the range of hairy

elephantfoot but is usually on wetter sites. Unlike

hairy elephantfoot, it has stem leaves and no basal

leaves. Elephantopus nudatus Gray and E. e&us

Bertol, are also common, resembling hairy elephantfoot but with somewhat smaller flowers and flower

heads.

Range: Texas to Florida, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Perennial. Stems one to five, from a woody crown,

20 - 90 cm tall, hirsute, subscapose, nodeless, or one

node below the first inflorescence branch; leaves

mostly basal, elliptic to obovate, densely pilose to

tomentose, 3.0 - 10.5 cm wide, 8 - 22 cm long, inflorescence a loosely branched corymb, involucres cylindric, 10 - 14 mm long, densely pubescent, subtended

by three ovate foliar bracts; flowers all discoid, three

to four per head, pinkish to purple.

96
Daisy Fleabane-Bigeron strigosus M&l. ex Willd. var. beytichii (Fisch. & Mey.) T. & G. ex Gray

Like most annual composites, daisy fleabane is

most abundant on old fields, roadsides, firelines, and

other open, disturbed areas. It is common on undisturbed range, however, even under moderately dense.

timber. Sandy soils apparently provide the best habitat.

Plants may reach a height of 3 feet or more where

competition is light, but where grass is dense, height

seldom exceeds 2 feet. Early spring leaves, which

form a basal rosette, are coarsely toothed. They are 6

inches long and 1 inch wide, with the greatest width

in the upper one-third. Leaves on the upper stem are

smaller-l to 3 inches long and less than ‘/ inch wide

-and without toothed margins. Leaves and stems

are sparsely covered with short, stiff, ascending hairs

that make plants rough to the touch.

The inflorescence consists of several to many daisylike flower heads, % inch or less in diameter. Each

head has an outer ring of ray flowers and an inner

disk of tubular flowers. The ligules of the ray flowers

are about ?4 inch long and usually white, though occasionally the outer may be bluish or pink. Yellow flowers make up the central disk, which is about W inch in

diameter. Flowering may begin in mid-April and continues through midsummer. Both ray and disk flowers produce a two-nerved achene less than Vi6 inch

long.

Prairie fleabane, Erigeron strigosus Muhl. ex

Willd. var. strigosus, is also an annual, rarely a

biennial. It is a larger plant with larger, more showy

flower heads, but is seldom found on grazed southern

forest range. Several recent authors “lump” both

varieties under E. strigosus Muhl. (Radford and others 1968, Correll and Johnson 1970). Other springflowering biennial or perennial fleabanes common

southwide include E. philadelphicus L., a robust

plant with toothed or divided, oblanceolate lower

leaves, and E. pulchellus Michx., with mostly basal

leaves and the few stem leaves reduced in size toward

the tip of the usually unbranched stem, which is terminated by one to several showy flower heads. Erigeran tenuis T. & G., which is not found east of the Mississippi River, is a slender plant with oblanceolate,

shallowly lobed leaves and several branches forming

a more or less flat-topped inflorescence.

The annual horseweed, or horsetail conyza, Conyzu

canadensis var. pusilla (Nutt.) Cronq. (E. pusillus

Nutt.), is a common roadside weed throughout the

South. It has numerous narrow leaves gradually

reduced in size going up the usually unbranched

stem, with the lower, broader leaves falling early.

Flower heads are small, numerous, and in a long, open

YtJrA Flowering branch

I

km

I \ \IYYY

I

4mm

97
Daisy Fleabane-(Continued)

inflorescence. Plant height may exceed 6 feet on disturbed sites. Conyzu canudensis (L.) Cronq. var. cunadensis (E. canadensis L.) is widespread in the eastern

U.S. but is not common on the Coastal Plain.

Cattle graze daisy fleabane in the spring before

flowers form. On some sites, plants are abundant

enough to contribute considerable forage. Nutritive

value of young plants is high. In summer, deer may

browse the flowers and upper stems of several fleabanes.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to

Rhode Island, then west to Washington.

Annual. Stems strigose, 20 - 100 cm tall; basal leaves

oblanceolate to elliptic, entire or toothed, petiolate,

up to 15 cm long and 2.5 cm wide; upper leaves linear

to lanceolate, minutely strigose to glabrous, entire,

alternate, sessile; iuflorescence corymbose, of few to

many heads; heads 5 - 15 mm in diameter; bracts

2-3 mm long, linear-lanceolate, scarious margined;

disk 9 mm or less in diameter, flowers perfect; ray

flowers pistillate, rays 6 mm long or less, white to

bluish or pink; achene 2-nerved, angled, about 1 mm

long.

Eupatoriums-Eupatotium spp.

The eupatoriums, along with asters and goldenrods, are the most common composites in the southem United States. Several species grow on ranges in

good condition; others occur mainly as invaders of

disturbed sites. In general, eupatoriums have little

grazing value; at least one species, white snakeroot, is

poisonous to livestock. The seeds of several eupatoriums are eaten by birds.

The many-branched inflorescence is composed of

numerous heads in flat-topped, rounded, or conical

arrangements. In the most common species on southem pine forest range, flowers are tubular, white, and

about % inch long. Heads are enclosed at the base by

a whorl of’ greenish bracts, which in some species

have whitish margins and tips. ‘Most eupatoriums

have fewer than 10 flowers per head, but some have

up to 70. Each corolla is surrounded and almost hidden by an early developing ring of hairs, or pappus,

which acts like a parachute to aid in wind dissemination of the fruit (achene).

Most eupatoriums flower in late srmuner or fall;

hence recognition during most of the growing season

must depend on vegetative differences. Intergradation is common among associated species. The following key may aid in the identification of several common species by foliage characteristics. All plants are

perennials and flower color is white unless another

color is specified. Descriptions of four species follow

the key. The four species, which illustrate the range in

leaf shapes and inflorescence types in Eupatorium,

are white eupatorium, E. album L.; dogfermel, E. capillifolium (Lam.) Small, hyssopleaf eupatorium, E.

hyssopifolium L.; and roundleaf eupatorium, E.

rotundifolium L.

98
Key to Eupatoriums

1 .

1 .

3.

3.

5 .

5 .

7.

7.

9.

Leaves dissected into narrow segments, opposite

and ah,ernatc on same plant; inflorescence conical ............................................................................................. 2

Leaf margins toothed but not dissected, leaves

opposite; mflorescence more or less flat topped .................................................................................................. 3

2. Leaf segments hairlike; plant tops lax,

slightly drooping ................................................................. E. cupillifolium (Lam.) Small, dogfennel (page

100)

2. IAX& segments flat, often ‘/ - ?A inch

(3 - 6 mm) wide; plant tops erect .........................................E. compositifolium Walt., yankeeweed

Length of typical leaf blade less than twice the width ........................................................................................ 4

Length of blade 2 or more times the width .......................................................................................................... 5

4. Blades ovate to broadly rounded, sessile;

flowers white ....................................................................... E. rotundifolium L., roundleaf eupatorium

(page 101)

4. Blades triangular, veiny, on petioles W to %

blade length; flowers blue’ .................................................. E. coeles tinum L. (Conoclinium coeles tinum

(L.) DC.)l, mist-flower

Blades attached directly to stem; no obvious leaf

stalk (petiole) ........................................................................................................................................................ 6

Blades with conspicuous petioles ........................................................................................................................ 10

6. Leaf bases of opposite pair of leaves joining

aroundstem ......................................................................... E. perfoliatum L., boneset

6. Leaves merely seade or essentially so ........................................................................................................... 7

Blade margins toothed on upper half only ..............................E. semisermtum DC., smallflower eupatorium

Blade margins toothed below the middle or

leaves linear .......................................................................................................................................................... 8

8. Larger leaves leas than W inch (1.3 cm) wide ................................................................................................. 9

8. Largerleavesmorethan’/tinch(1.3cm)wide ...................E. album L., white eupatorium (page 100)

Leaves narrow with reduced axilkry branches,

appearing whorled .................................................................E. hyssopifolium L., hyssopleaf eupatorium

(PW 100)

9. Leaves without axihary branches, toothed or

entire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .E. Leucolepis (DC.) T. & G., hoarscale

eupatorium

10. Length of typical blade at least

3 times the width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E. serotinum Michx., late eupatorium

10. Length of typical blade 2 - 2% times

width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E. rugosum Houtt. (Agemtinu altissima (L.) R.

M. Ring & H. Rob.), white snakeroot (mistflower fits here also)

1Another blue-flowered eupatmium, ivyleaf eupatorium, E. iuifolium L. (Chromolaem ivifoliu (L.) R. M. King & H. Rob.), is found in southern Louisiana and Mississippi. It is a freely branching, often sprawling plant, with n-w, ~esaile, sparsely toothed leaves.

2 Names in parenthesis are indicated as preferred in NLSPN (USDA 1982).

99
White Eupatorium-Eupatotium album L.

White eupatorium, named for the whitish membranous margins of the bracts surrounding the flower

heads, is common on periodically burned, open, sandy

longleaf-slash pine range.

Mature plants are about 2 feet tall and conspicuously hairy. The leaves are opposite, elliptical, coarse

toothed, and without petioles. Blades may be up to 5

inches long and 1 inch wide, but they are commonly

about 2 inches long and l? inch wide. Flat-topped

inflorescences appear in midsummer, and flowering

continues until frost.

Although boneset, Eupatorium perfoliatum L., and

smallflower eupatorium, E. semiserratum DC. (E.

glaucescens Ell.) resemble white eupatorium slightly,

they are usually confined to wetter sites. Other differences are noted in the key. Late eupatorium, E. serotinum Michx., is very common on a wide range of

sites. Its leaf blades are about as broad as white eupatorium, but leaves are on petioles about 1 inch long.

Late eupatorium may be mistaken for white snake

root (see key).

Cattle occasionally graze the tender spring leaves

of white eupatorium, but the coarse, stiff foliage of

older growth is unpalatable.

Range: Louisiana to Florida, extending north to

Arkansas, Ohio, and New York.

Perennial. Stems 20 - 90 cm tall, harshly pubescent;

leaves simple, opposite, glandular-punctate, elliptic

to lanceolate, serrate, sessile, pilose to scabrous or

almost glabrous, 3 - 10 cm long, 1 - 3 cm wide; inflorescence a corymb 10 - 25 cm broad, ultimate bran-

&lets terminated by a head of three to five tubular

flowers; heads 8 - 11 mm long; bracts imbricate, lanceolate, white-scarious-margined, glandular-punctate, exceeding the corolla; corolla white, tubular,

glandular-punctate, 3-5 mm long; fruit an achene,

3-5mmlong.

Dogfennel-Eupatoriumcupillifolium (Lam.) Small

Dogfennel and its close relative, yankeeweed,

Eupatorium compositifolium Walt., invade abandoned fields, disturbed or overgrazed pastures and

forests, and roadsides, especially on dry sandy soils.

Dogfennel grows in colonies from a thick, woody,

underground base. Plants average 4 to 5 feet in

height, but on moist fertile sites they may reach 9

feet. On dry sandy soils, yankeeweed is usually the

more abundant of the two.

Dogfermel leaves are deeply dissected into fine,

hairlike lobes that give the foliage a needlelike

appearance and soft feel. Yankeeweed leaves are also

divided, but segments are broader.

The dogfennel inflorescence is a long, conical panicle, usually somewhat lax or nodding. Only yankee100

weed has a similar inflorescence, and it is erect. Other

eupatoriums are flat-topped. Dogfennel and yankeeweed flower in the fall, later than most associated

plants. They emit a pleasing fragrance when in full

bloom.

Dogfennel is scarce on forest range in good condition. It has no value as forage or wildlife food. Cattle

graze it sparingly, if at all, even where other herbage

is scarce.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Tennessee and New Jersey.

Perennial. Stems several, from a stout woody caudex,

1 - 3 m tall, pubescent or puberulent, upper stem lax,

nodding; leaves pinnately dissected into filiform divisions, 2 - 10 cm long, glabrous, glandular-punctate,

often with axillary fascicles; inflorescence a lax, elongate, conical panicle; heads 3- to 5-flowered, 3 - 5 mm

long; flowers 2- 3 mm long, corolla white, tubular;

achene about 1 mm long, smooth.

Hyssopleaf Eupatorium-Eupatotium hyssopifolium L.

This eupatorium grows on drainageways and

poorly drained flats throughout the longleaf- slaehpine type. Although rarely abundant, plants are

conspicuous when flowering in late summer.

Mature plants may reach 3 feet in height, but average about 2 feet. Primary leaves are about 1% inches

long and % inch or less in width. Their sparsely

toothed or entire margins frequently roll inward

along the lower surface; thus, blades may appear

threadlike, resembling those of dogfennel. Hyssopleaf

eupatorium is distinguishable by the reduced leafy

branches arising from leaf ax&s. These branches

cause leaves, which are generally paired and opposite,

to appear numerous and whorled. In some specimens,

however, three or four leaves may occur at each node.

Leaves of hoarscale eupatorium, Eupatorium leucolepis (DC.) T. & G., are narrow, like those of hyssopleaf eupatorium, and the two species inhabit similar

sites. But because hoarscale eupatorium is without

branches in the leaf axils, its leaves are distinctly

opposite.

Cattle rarely graze either eupatorium.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to

Rhode Isiand.

Perennial. Stems 30 - 100 cm tall, puberulent or strigose; leaves simple, linear, 1 - 10 mm wide, 2 - 6 cm

long, opposite or sometimes three to four verticillate,

appearing whorled because of axillary leafy branches,

upper leaves often alternate, margins entire or fewtoothed; inflorescence a corymb, 8 -20 cm wide;

heads 6 - 9 mm long; bracts 4 - ‘7 mm long, canescentpilose, scarious-margined; corolla white, 3-4 mm

long; achene about 2 mm long, ribbed.
I

5mm

HEAD OF

FLOWERS “Ezl

WHITE EUPATORIUM

v ROUNDLEAF EUPATORIUM I”+

V H -

6

r,

- -LJ

DOGFENNEL

iOPLEAF EUPATORII

50cm

1

Roundleaf Eupatorium-&patotium rotundifolium L.

Roundleaf eupatorium is common on poorly

drained uplands. It grows as scattered individuals

about 2 feet tall. Leaves are ovate with regular, blunt

teeth. Leaf blades, attached directly to the stem, are 1

to 2 inches long and about the same in width.

Roundleaf is the most common eupatorium with

leaves about as broad as long. In this treatment it

includes those plants with typical ovate leaves and

truncate bases (Eupatorium rotundifolium L. var.

rotundifolium of some authors) and also those with

wedge-shaped bases (E. rotundifolium var. ovatum

(Bigel.) Torr. or E. pubescens Muhl. of some authors).

Eupatorium p&sum Walt. is listed in some books

as E. rotundifolium var. saundersii (Porter) Cronq. It

is common on a variety of sites throughout the

Coastal Plain from southeastern Louisiana to New

York. Leaf blades are generally longer than broad,

coarsely and irregularly toothed, and without

petioles.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Tennessee and New York.

Perennial. Stems 30 - 120 cm tall, tomentulose;

leaves simple, opposite, sessile, ovate to subrotund,

crenate or crenatedentate, with straight, entire, subtruncate, cordate to broadly cuneate bases, scabrous

above, pilose and rugoseveiny beneath, 2 - 7 cm long,

width approximately equaling length: corymb 10 - 20

cm wide; heads 5 - 7 mm long, inner bracts pilose,

white-scarious-margined, 3 - 5 mm long; corolla

white, tubular; achene 2 - 3 mm long.

101
Fragrant Cudweed-Gnaphalium obtusifolium L.

This annual or biennial weed is better known

across the South as rabbit-tobacco. It is found

throughout the eastern half of the nation but is especially common on the sandy Coastal Plains soils of

the South. Other names are catfoot, sweet-everlasting, and old-field-balsam. Like most annual composites, it grows best where competition from perennial

grasses is light. Common sites include firelines, overgrazed ranges, and burned areas, especially on dry

sandy soils under an open pine canopy. Fragrant

cudweed usually grows in clusters of unbranched

stems 2 to 3 feet tall. Leaves are lance-shaped, commonly about 3 inches long and % inch wide. Upper

leaf surfaces are green and almost hairless; stems and

lower leaf surfaces are woolly with grayish hair. A

showy, branched inflorescence terminates each staIk.

Flowers are in clusters of constricted, white woolly

heads, each about ‘/4 inch high and opening to about

as’ wide at maturity. Like flowers of the pussytoes,

Antennaria spp., they lack the conspicuous rays typical of showier composites such as the sunflowers,

Helianthus spp.

A closely related annual species, Gnaphalium helleti Britt., considered a variety of G. obtusifolium by

Femald (1950), has glandular-hairy stems that are

green in color, The two species are often found growing on the same site.

A common relative of fragrant cudweed is purple

cudweed, Gamochaeta purpurea (L.) Cabrera, (Gnaphalium purpureum L.), a much smaller annual with

blunt leaves broadest above the middle. Flower heads

sometimes turn purplish at maturity. Like fragrant

cudweed, it is found most often on dry, disturbed

sites but is frequently found on undisturbed sites. A

basal rosette of leaves is formed in late winter and

provides some early feed for deer and turkey. Neither

fragrant nor purple cudweed is desirable forage for

cattle. Purple cudweed occurs in several forms

throughout the South; these forms are considered

varieties by some authors and separate species by

others.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Canada.

Annual or biennial. Stems 20 - 150 cm tall,

unbranched except in inflorescence; leaves alternate,

elhptic-linear-lanceolate, 2 - 10 cm long, 2 - 10 mm

wide, upper surface green and glabrate to papillate,

lower surface gray-woolly; inflorescence corymbose;

involucres in loose clusters at tips of corymb

branches, 6 - 7 mm high; phyllaries whitish and scarious, in three to five different lengths, pilose on lower

half, outer with rounded tips, inner acute, equaling or

exceeding ffowers; flowers all tubular, outer pistillate,

inner perfect; achenes flat and glabrous.

102
Bitter Sneezeweed-Selenium amarum (Raf.) Rock

Bitter sneezeweed, like most annuals, is a prolific

seeder. It aggressively invades denuded areas,

appearing prominently along roadsides, in old fields,

and on overgrazed grasslands. It tolerates all but

very wet or heavily shaded sites.

Height rarely exceeds 2 feet. Stems vary from

simple to profusely branched. Leaves sre numerous,

threadlike, and up to 3 inches long. Each stem or

branch produces many flower heads, which average

about an inch in diameter. Collectively, these form a

flat-topped cluster. The central disk of the head, consisting of tubular flowers, is surrounded by drooping,

three-lobed, yellow ray flowers. Flowering begins in

the spring and continues through the growing season.

Bitter sneezeweed is low in palatability. Although

it is reportedly toxic to livestock, cattle rarely consume enough to develop serious symptoms. When

grazed by dairy cows, a bitter taste is transmitted to

the miIk.

Purplehead sneezeweed, Helenium fZexuosum Raf.

(H. nudiflorum Nutt.), with broader leaves and

winged stems, has flower heads resembling those of

bitter sneezeweed; disks are purple and rays may be

yellow or purplish. Common sneezeweed, H. autumn&e L., is similar to purplehead except that the cen-

-tral disk is yellow.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Virginia.

Annual. Stems 20 - 50 cm tall, very leafy, simple to

corymbosely branched above the middle; leaves 1 - 8

cm long, alternate, 1 - 2 mm broad, filiform to linear,

densely glandular-punctate, glabrous; heads several to

numerous, 1.5-2.5 cm broad, radiate, solitary on

slender, naked peduncles, disk ocher yellow, globular,

6 - 12 mm broad: disk flowers 4 - 5 mm long, on a

globular, naked receptacle; ray flowers 5 - 10, pistillate; Ii&es cadmium yellow, 3-toothed, 5 - 12 mm

long, spreading to reflexed, glandular on the back;

achenes about 1 mm long, brown, hairy; pappus

scales hyaline, with an awn as long as the body.
Swamp Sunflower-Helianthus angustifolius L.

Its name is misleading, for swamp sunflower is the

most common of the perennial forbs on a variety of

upland range sites, including dry sandy ridges. It

occurs also on low, open flatwoods and other wet

sites.

Like most sunflowers, stems and leaves are rough

to the touch. In dense grass, stems seldom exceed 2

or 3 feet in height, the plants usually being inconspicuous until the flower heads appear. On firelines or

other clearings, this species may grow more than 6

feet tall. The lower stem is covered with short, stiff

hairs.

On open sites the leaves average 2% inches long

and less than 1% inch wide. They appear even narrower because their margins roll under. Under timber,

leaves may be flat and up to % inch wide. Heads, 1%

to 2 inches broad, appear by early October. Each has

a purplish central disk about % inch in diameter and

an outer ring of yellow ray flowers. Leaves, though

slender, are almost fleshy. They are covered throughout with short, stiff hairs that project from small conical bases.

Although early growth of Texas ironweed resembles swamp sunflower, it is easily distinguished when

its flower heads appear in early summer. Its inwardrolled leaves are strongly lance shaped; those of

swamp sunflower are almost linear. Swamp sunflower

intergrades with Helianthus floridanus Gray ex

Chapm. in south Georgia and east Florida to produce

plants with flowers having yellow disks (Godfrey and

Wooten 1981).

Swamp sunflower is the most valuable forage forb

on longleaf-slash pine-bluestem range. It is high in

protein, often containing more than 10 percent in the

full-leaf stage, Cattle eat it throughout the growing

season. Grazing causes plants to branch freely. Site

preparation, such as disking for direct seeding,

causes swamp sunflower to increase. Deer eat the

leaves and young stems, and the seeds provide food

for quail and doves.

Range: Texas to Florida and New York, extending

inland to Kentucky, Indiana, and Missouri.

Perennial. Stems 50 - 150 cm tall, branched above,

arising from a short, erect crown; leaves 8 - 20 cm

long, 0.3 - 1.5 cm wide, simple, sparse to numerous,

sessile, alternate (basal sometimes opposite), attenuate, the margins revolute in the very narrow leaves;

heads many, radiate, 3-7 cm broad, involucral

bracts 8 - 12 mm long, subulate; disks dark purple,

10 - 15 mm long, fertile; chaff about 7 mm long, redviolet tipp,ed, 3-toothed; rays 10 to 13, neuter, bright

yellow orange, 1 - 3 cm long, 5 - 6 mm broad; achenes

3 - 4 mm long, flattened, dull black, mottled with tan:

pappus of two caducous scales.

104

P

&xi of disk

n ad ray QOWXS

Ffoueri~ branch and leafy s&em

Base of stem
Hairy Sunflower--Helianthus hirsutus Raf.

Hairy sunflower is common across the South but is

not as abundant as swamp sunflower. It occurs on

sandy sites and seems to be fairly shade tolerant.

Plants are 2 to 4 feet tall, branching from the axils

of the upper leaves. A single flowerhead, about 2

inches in diameter, terminates the main stem and lateral branches. Disk flowers as well as rays are yellow.

Leaves are lance shaped and opposite, although

uppermost leaves may be alternate. Usually gray

green in color, leaves may be VI to % inch wide and up

to ‘7 inches long. As in many sunflowers, short, stiff,

glandular hairs make leaves and stems rough to the

touch. Stem hairs, however, may be longer and softer

than those of the leaves.

Cattle eat the immature foliage, but on forested

range, plants are seldom abundant enough to provide

a significant amount of forage. It is not recognized as

a valuable livestock or wildlife food plant.

Range: East Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas to

Georgia, extending north to Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

Perennial. Stems erect, from stout rhizomes, 50 to

170 cm tall, internodes hirsute or scabrous; leaves

opposite (uppermost may be alternate), sessile or on

petioles up to 15 mm long, blades ovate to lanceolate,

up to 7 cm broad and 18 cm long, lower surface hirsute or scabrous; flower heads solitary at ends of

main stem and lateral branches; disk 1 - 2 cm broad,

flowers yellow; rays yellow, 15 - 35 mm long; involucral bracts lancolate, long-tapering, exceeding the

disk; achene about 4 mm long, winged.
Grassleaf Goldaster-Heterotheca gruminifoliu(Michx.‘) SSnners-(Chrysopsis gruminifolia (Michx.) Ell.)

Grassleaf goldaster grows on a variety of sites but

is most common on sandy soils. Until the inflorescences appear in summer, the plants superficially

resemble grasses. The elongate leaves measure up to

10 inches and have prominent longitudinal veins.

Long silky hairs paralleling the veins he flat against

the leaf; they produce a silvery sheen, which the dead

leaves retain through the winter.

Plants, including the profusely branched inflorescence, grow to 3 feet tall. The asterlike flower heads

are about W inch in diameter, with golden-yellow ray

flowers. Several rows of overlapping, narrow bracts

enclose the bases.

Soft goldaster, Heterotheca pilosa (Nutt.) Shinners, is a common taprooted annual on sandy sites

from Texas and Mississippi to Kansas and Missouri.

It occurs less commonly in Tennessee and North Carolina. Flower heads are similar to those of grassleaf

goldaster, but larger. Foliage of soft goldaster lacks

the silky hairs and parallel venation of grassleaf.

Lower stem leaves are toothed and semi-clasping.

Leaves on branches are reduced in size, and entire.

Leaves and stems have spreading white hairsof varying length and density. Like most annual forbs, soft

goldaster is most abundant on roadsides, firelines,

and other disturbed sites.

Maryland goldaster, H. mariana (L.) Shinners, a

perennial with long, cobwebby hairs on stems and

leaves of young growth, resembles soft goldaster and

grows on the same sites. Camphorweed, H. subaxilla&z (Lam.) Britt. & Rusby, is a weedy, almost

woody, goldaster with rough, coarsely toothed leaves,

that may grow unbranched to a height of 8 feet or

may form bushy branched plants about 3 feet tall.

Because of its scattered distribution, grassleaf

goldaster contributes only a small part of the cattle

diet. Nutritive value exceeds that of most grasses but

palatability is only fair. Cattle graze it mainly in the

spring when plants are young and succulent.

Range: Louisiana to Florida and Virginia.

Perennial. Stems 30 - 90 cm tall; basal leaves 10 - 30

cm long, 0.2 - 1.0 cm broad, veins parallel; cauline

leaves appressed, alternate, decreasing in size up the

stem; inflorescence irregularly corymbose; heads turbfnate, yellow, radiate, solitary at the ends of elongate ascending peduncles; involucres 7 - 11 mm high;

phyllaries in several series, loosely white-hairy to

glandular; disk flowers 7 - 8 mm long, numerous, fertile; ray flowers fertile, the narrow ligule 8 - 12 mm

long; pappus double; achene about 3 mm long, linear,

dark brown, hafry.

I ’

2cm

106
Hawkweed--Hieracium gronouii L.

This southern species represents a group of native

hawkweeds whose primary ranges are mainly in the

northern or mountainous parts of the United States.

Numerous species are introduced weeds from Europe.

Hieracium gronouii has hairy stems and oblanceolate

basal leaves up to 7 inches long. Flower stalks are 2 to

3 feet tall, with several reduced leaves, and are terminated by an erect panicle of flower heads. Flower

heads are about ‘/ inch long with no disk flowers. The

yellow ray flowers are barely visible behind the

almost tubular outer ring of greenish bracts. H. gronovii occurs most frequently in open sandy woodlands,

although it is seldom found on burned and grazed

range. It is a common weed of roadsides and lawns.

Other species of Hiemcium that range in@ the

South occur in the Piedmont and adjacent areas of

the Coastal Plain. Western species are found in

Arkansas and Missouri. Several are common weeds of

pastures. Most have yellow flowers and hairy stems

and leaves, and all have milky sap.

Hawkweed is a palatable forage plant for livestock,

and deer eat flower heads and stem tips in summer. It

is seldom abundant enough, however, to be considered a valuable forage component of the range.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Michigan and Massachusetts.

Perennial. Stems erect, to 1 m tall, pilose to pubescent; leaves mostly basal, oblanceolate to elliptic,

8 - 17 cm long, to 5 cm wide, abruptly reduced up the

stem, pilose; inflorescence a narrow, erect panicle;

involucres 6 - 8 mm long, bracts acute to acuminate,

heads 20- to 40flowered, all ray flowers; rays yellow;

nutlets fusiform, 3 - 4 mm long; pappus tan.

t

4mm

Flower head
Ragweed Woollywhite-Hymenopappus artemisiifolius DC.

Ragweed woollywhite is conspicuous from April

through June on roadsides through sandy open woodlands of east Texas and southwestern Louisiana. It is

a biennial, about 3 feet tall when mature, with a basal

rosette of leaves and a thick taproot. Basal leaves are

entire or once-divided, green on the upper surface and

“woolly-white” below; stem leaves are deeply lobed

and reduced in size up the stem. Flower heads are in

axillary and terminal clusters in a stiffy branched

inflorescence. Membranaceous bracts enclosing the

flower heads are whitish, often tinged with red or

purple. Another species, flattop woollywhite, Hymenopappus scabiosaeus L’Her., grows southwide on dry

sandy or clayey soils. Leaves of flattop woollywhite

are more finely divided than those of ragweed woolly

white, and flowers are completely white.

Basal leaves of ragweed woollywhite are eaten by

cattle and deer in early spring when other green forage is scarce. Flowers appear by the first of May and

mature plants are not grazed under moderate utilization.

Range: Texas and Louisiana.

Biennial. Stems to 90 cm tall; leaves of basal rosette 8

to 18 cm long, entire or pinnatifid, upper leaves

reduced and pinnatifid; inflorescence cymose, involucres campanulate, about 15 mm wide; phyllaries

white or tinged with red, heads with disk flowers

only; corollas funnel shaped, rose colored,3.5 - 5 mm

long; pappus of 16 - 18 scales about 1 mm long; achenes 4-sided, 3 - 4 mm long.

i”I

Dcm 111

Habit

108
I Gayfeathers-Liattis spp.

About 20 gayfeathers, or blazing-stars, are found

in southern pine forests. Several are found southwide,

while others have limited distributions. Most are

showy, slender, erect, narrow-leaved perennials, with

stems arising from a bulblike base. Leaves are generally longest at the base of the plant and decrease in

length up the stem. The basal leaves form a rosette in

the spring before stalks begin growth.

The gayfeathers inhabit open to moderately timbered sites. Most grow best on sandy soils, although

some require fairly wet sites. Cattle may eat new

growth but generally reject older herbage. Gayfeathers are moderately resistant to grazing, but disappear

on heavily used areas. Thus, an abundance of gayfeathers indicates that the range is not being overgrazed.

I

1

#

BARBELLATE BRISTLES

hdividuol flowers I

I I

Pinkscale Slender Kansas Florida Short leaf Spike
Slender Gayfeather-J%tris acidota Engelm. &

Gray

Slender gayfeather grows on moist, well-drained

soils of the Coastal Plain in Louisiana and east Texas.

Plants are usually most abundant on sandy ridges

and on pimple mounds in areas that are otherwise

wet.

Stems grow about 2 feet tall from bulblike corms.

Leaves are gray-green and hairless, l/is to % inch

wide. Lower leaves are up to 8 inches long, but at

about 6 inches above the ground, leaf length abruptly

diminishes to about 1 inch. The uppermost leaves are

even shorter-less than l/ inch long.

Flower heads, averaging % inch long and short

stalked, are spaced about ‘% inch apart. Rose-purple

flowers, two to four per head, are surrounded by a

loose whorl of stiff, sharp-pointed bracts. The bracts

are green at first, turning dark purple at flowering.

They vary in length, but the longest are shorter than

the flowers. The inflorescence comprises about % of

the plant height. Heads at the summit begin maturing in midsummer; flowering continues downward,

with the lowermost heads maturing last.

Young plants are occasionally grazed by cattle, but

older herbage is rejected unless better forage is

scarce.

A similar but taller species, shortleaf gayfeather,

Liatris tenuifoliu Nutt., is common on dry sandhills

from Florida to South Carolina. Average height is 3

to 4 feet, but plants up to 6 feet tall are common.

Stems of the tallest plants measure only about %

inch in diameter near ground level.

Range: Coastal Plain of Texas and Louisiana.

Perennial. Stems glabrous, 30-70 cm tall, from

corms; leaves linear, alternate, the lower 1 - 3 mm

wide, 10 - 18 cm long, the upper less than 1 mm wide

and 2 cm long, ascending, glabrous but obscurely

white-scurfy; inflorescence slender, spikelike, 10 - 25

cm long; heads sparse, about 1 cm long, 3- to &flowered; bracts of mature flowers few, the inner 6 - 7 mm

long, purple, stiff, acuminate, not scarious-margined

nor petaloid, flowers, including the mature achene,

about 10 mm long, exceeding the bracts; corolla

equaling the plumose pappus, rose-magenta.

Pinkscale Gayfeather-Liutris eleguns (Walt.)

Michx.

This gayfeather usually grows 2 to 3 feet tall. It

flowers in late summer or fall, and the pink or rosecolored floral bracts provide color long after flowers

have withered.

Lower leaves are generally less than 6 inches long

and up to % inch wide. Leaf size gradually diminishes

up the stalk. The upper leaves point downward at

about 45”.

110

The inflorescence is 4 to 6 inches long and about 1

inch in diameter. Sometimes, however, stalks of the

lower heads elongate, producing a cone-shaped inflorescence. Color is provided mostly by the floral

bracts, which extend beyond the flowers, obscuring

the petals. These colorful bracts and the downward

pointing leaves are reliable distinguishing characteristics of pinkscale gayfeather. The inflorescence is

less densely flowered than that of Kansas gayfeather,

but denser than in slender gayfeather. Floral bracts

(except the tips) and stems are loosely coated with

short, stiff, white hairs.

Although cattle may occasionally graze young

growth, pinkscale gayfeather is not a valuable forage

plant. Deer eat the foliage in spring and summer.

Range: Texas and Oklahoma to Florida and South

Carolina.

Perennial. Stems 30 - 100 cm tall, pubescent, leafy,

unbranched, from corm; leaves linear-spatulate to

lanceolate, alternate, sessile, punctate, acute; basal

leaves ascending, to 12 cm long and 7 mm wide; upper

leaves decurrent, diminishing in length to 1 cm

among the heads; inflorescence 10 - 40 cm long, 3 - 6

cm broad, cylindrical, spikelike, with many elongate

sessile heads, or pedicellate heads on short, branched

peduncles; heads slender, 1.5 - 2.5 cm long; tubular

flowers, white to lavender, three to five per head,

9 - 11 mm long; involucral bracts in several series,

the outer green, punctate, pubescent, various lengths,

the inner lo- 18 mm long, 2- 3 mm wide, green,

punctate and pubescent below, with rose-magenta to

white, serrulate, petaloid tips; achenes 4 - 6 mm long,

cylindrical, pointed, ribbed, pubescent; pappus longplumose, 9 - 11 mm long.

Florida Gayfeather-Liatris garberi A. Gray

Florida gayfeather, a slender, erect perennial 6 to

24 inches tall, occurs only in peninsular Florida. It is

most common on open to moderately stocked pine

stands or sandy flatwoods soils in the pinewiregrass

type. It is similar to other gayfeathers in its rosepurple spike of flowers but is unique in having fleshy

roots rather than a bulblike base found in most other

gayfeathers.

Cattle graze new growth in spring and early summer and deer eat the leaves. Like other gayfeathers, it

is not abundant enough to be considered a valuable

forage plant.

Range: Central and southern peninsular Florida.

Perennial. Stems erect, 20 - 50 cm tall, hirsute; leaves

linear, at base of plant lo-30 cm long, abruptly

reduced upward, those of upper stalk less than 1 cm F
long, ascending; inflorescence a spicate raceme; beads

10 - 12 mm long, 8- to lo-flowered, involucral bracts

broadly elliptic, ciliate, and mucronate; corolla rose

purple, tube 6 - 8 mm long, glandular-punctate; pap

pus tan, bristles barbellate, as long as the corolla

tube: achene 2 - 3 mm long, ribbed, pubescent.

Kansas Gayfeather-Liutn’spycnostachya Michx.

This large gayfeather is found only in the western

end of the southern pine belt, on the edge of its preferred prairie habitat. Plants may reach 5 feet in

height, growing mainly on well-drained sandy soils in

forest openings. A striking plant, it is planted as an

ornamental in the northeastern states.

Plants are hairy throughout. Lower leaves, up to a

foot long and %I inch wide, generally droop. Leaf size

gradually diminishes up the stem, the smaller upper

leaves pointing stiffly skyward.

The dense, spikelike inflorescences are 6 inches to a

foot long. Heads are about W inch long, with 5 to 12

flowers per head. Floral bracts are numerous: their

tips, which curl away from the head, are purple

tinged.

Cattle graze Kansas gayfeather sparingly. Deer

eat spring and summer foliage.

Range: Texas and Louisiana to South Dakota and

Indiana.

Perennial. Stems several, 60- 120 cm tall, stiff, hirsute, from corm; leaves 10 - 30 cm long, alternate,

4- 10 mm wide below, mostly ascending, much

reduced above, pubescent, punctate; inflorescence

15 - 30 cm long, about 2 cm wide, cylindrical, spike

like; heads 5- to la-flowered, about 1 cm long, cylindrical, sessile; flowers 10 - 11 mm long, rose magenta;

involucral bracts in several series, green or purplish,

pubescent, lanceolate-acuminate, the acute tips

quarrose, reflexed or spreading; achene 4 -6 mm

long, ribbed, pubescent; pappus with barbellate bristles.

Spike Gayfeather-Liattis spicutu (L.) Willd. VW.

spicutu

This gayfeather is common on moist or marshy

sites throughout most of the eastern United States.

It extends into the mountains of West Virginia and

Tennessee. As the name indicates, flowers are in a

fairly dense spike terminating a stalk 2 to 6 feet tall.

Stems of the largest plants may be ‘/r inch in diameter.

As with other gayfeathers, the main value of this

plant is in the beauty of its spike of lavender flowers.

Early leaves and immature flower stalks may be

grazed by livestock or deer, but after flowers form,

plants are not eaten.

Although most gayfeathers are superficially similar, spike gayfeather can usually be distinguished by

its large size and hairless stems and leaves. Rootstacks are round in young plants but develop into elongated taprootlike masses in older plants that can be

separated for vegetative propagation. Basal leaves

are long and narrow, and remnants form a fibrous

tuft at the base of mature plants.

Typical spike gayfeather, with thick stems and

dense spikes, is found in the northern portion of the

range and around bays and lakes in the southern

Appalachians: the more slender variety, Liutris spicutu var. resinosu (Nutt.) Gaiser, with a loosely spicate inflorescence, is most common on Coastal Plains

pinelands.

Range: East of the Mississippi River, from the

Gulf of Mexico to Ontario and New York.

Perennial. Stems stiffly erect to 2 m tall, from a thick

round or elongated rootstock, glabrous or rarely hirsute; leaves numerous, linear or linear-lanceolate,

basal lo- 40 cm long, 5 - 20 mm wide, gradually

shorter up the stem; inflorescence a spike 30 - 70 cm

long; heads subcylindrical, 4- to l&flowered, 8 - 15

mm long and 5 - 10 mm thick when flowering, phyllaries appressed, mostly obtuse but sometimes

slightly acuminate, with narrow scarious margins

turning purplish at flowering; achene 4 - 7 mm long;

pappus 5 - 7 mm long, barbellate, setose.

111
Rough Coneflower--Rudbeckia grundifloru var. alismatifolia (T. &. G.) Cronq.

Rough coneflower, or plantainleaf coneflower, as

variety alismatifolia is also called, is a perennial with

thick, fleshy rootstocks, common on well-drained

Coastal Plains pinelands west of the Mississippi

River. Mature plants are 16 inches to more than 3%

feet in height.

Foliage is useful in identifying the species before

flowering. Basal leaves are paddle shaped, resembling

leaves of water-plantain (Alisma spp.). In large specimens, petioles may reach 10 inches, with blades 5

inches long and 2 inches wide. Leaf size diminishes up

the stem. Blade margins are sparingly toothed or

wavy. Often the upper half of the plant is leafless.

The name “coneflower” refers to the prominent,

cone-shaped central disk of brownish-purple flowers,

averaging % inch in diameter. Yellow ray flowers, 10

to 15 per head and an inch or more long, droop from

the base of the cone. They fall when the head is

mature, leaving the persistent cone and its subtending bracts.

Typical rough coneflower, Rudbeckia grandiflora

(Sweet) DC. var. grandifloru, whose stems and foliage

are hairier then those of var. alismatifolia, has a more

nothern range, although the species is restricted to an

area west of the Mississippi River from east Texas

and Louisiana to Missouri. A small and. highly variable coneflower, common southwide, is black-eyedsusan, R. hirta L. It is distinguishable from rough

coneflower by its basal leaves, which are usually 2 to

3 inches long and lance shaped.

Pale echinacea, Echinacea pallidu (Nutt.) Nutt., a

close relative of the coneflowers, with pink to purple

ray flowers, is common on sandy pinelands of Arkansas and western Louisiana.

Range: East Texas to central Arkansas and Louisiana.

Perennial. Stems 50 - 90 cm tall, from a woody rhizome, usually simple, slender, glabrous to slightly

scabrous above; basal leaves long-petioled, the blade

5- 12 cm long, 3- to B-ribbed, scabrous, punctate;

upper leaves similar, but smaller and sessile, alternate; heads 3 - 5 cm broad (rays reflexed), radiate, solitary on elongate, leafless peduncles; involucral

bracts linear, reflexed, scabrous; disks 1.5 - 2 cm

broad, dark brownish purple, subglobose; disk flowers on a conical, chaffy receptacle, 8 - 9 mm long, fertile, dull purple-black tipped, petals reflexed, stigmas

bright yellow; chaff 4 - 5 mm long, enclosing the disk

flower; rays 10 to 15, 3 - 4 cm long, neuter, yellow;

achene about 5 mm long, 4-angled; pappus a crown of

uneven, deltoid teeth.

I

2 cm

Disk flower

and chaff

ueatf of CiLjk

Isif vena tLbn Achene

112
Slender Rosinweed-Mphium grade Gray

The rosinweeds, like the sunflowers, have yellow

flower heads and rough leaves and stems. Most have

several series of broad greenish bracts at the base of

each flower head, making the heads denser than those

of most sunflowers and other composites.

Slender rosinweed is found in sandy or gravelly

soils of the Gulf Coastal Plain. Flowering plants are

from less than 2 feet to over 4 feet tall. Flower heads

are about 2 inches broad with ovate bracts. Stems

and leaves are rough with bristly hairs. Bracts of the

flower heads are hairless except for a fringe of short

bristles around the outer margins. Basal and lowest

stem leaves are elliptical or lance shaped with definite

petioles; upper stem leaves are gradually reduced in

length, ovate, and sessile. Lower stem leaves are

often opposite and upper leaves are alternate, but leaf

arrangement is apparently variable.

Immature flower stalks of slender rosinweed are

eaten by cattle in the spring. Although fairly common

on sandy pinelands, it is seldom abundant.

Other rosinweeds common through most of the

South include compassplant, Silphium luciniutum L.,

which has deeply pinnately divided basal leaves;

wholeleaf rosinweed, S. integrifolium Michx., with

opposite, entire, stem leaves; and sand rosinweed, S.

asteriscus L., which has alternate or opposite leaves.

Silphium compositum ssp. ovatifolium (T. & G.)

Sween. & T. R. Fisher is common on southeastern

sandy pinelands and flatwoods. The large basal

leaves have long petioles, are ovate in outline, and

may be coarsely serrate or deeply cleft.

Range: Coastal Plain, Texas to Alabama.

Perennial. Stems 30- 90 cm tall from a woody base,

scabrous to spreading-pubescent; leaves near base

petiolate, elliptic-lanceolate, lo-30 cm long, 5- 10

cm wide, entire to remotely dentate-serrate or lacerate; upper leaves sessile, gradually reduced up the

stem to remotely alternate bracts; heads at anthesis

3 - 5 cm wide, solitary and terminal at tip of stalk or

at end of few inflorescence branches: involucral

bra&s ovate to orbicular-ovate, glabrous except for

ciliate margins; ray flowers yellow, fertile, rays 1 - 3

cm long; disk flowers dark purple or brown, sterile:

achenes about 1 cm long, orbicular-oval, broadly

winged with notch at apex, glabrous. I

5mm

Disk flouw I

ILL c m lfl

113
Shiny Goldenrod--Solidago nitidu T. & G.

Shiny goldenrod inhabits dry upland sites, both

open and timbered. Stems arise from rootstocks to a

height of 2 to 2% feet. The inflorescence, though yellow flowered and late blooming, is flat-topped rather

than conical, making mature plants easy to distinguish from those of most other goldenrods. The alternate leaves are similar in texture and venation to

those of fragrant goldenrod but much larger. Lower

leaves are 4 to 5 inches long, and occasionally up to 12

inches long. The leaves decrease in size going up the

stem, with those subtending the inflorescence only 1

to 2 inches long. Blades are narrowly lance shaped

and entire, except for sparse, obscure teeth on the

lower leaves. Width ranges from about % inch in the

lower leaves to %s inch in the uppermost. Thin,

almost imperceptible hairs coat the upper stem and

inflorescence branches; otherwise, plants are hairless.

Flower heads, about ?A inch long, are much larger

than those of most goldenrods. Each flower produces

an achene about l/ls inch long.

Slimhead goldenrod, Euthamia leptocephakz (T. &

G.) Greene (SoZidugo leptocephalu T. & G.), is a similar plant found on a variety of sites throughout the

Southeast. Like shiny goldenrod, it is practically hairless, with a flat-topped infiorescence and lustrous

leaves. Lower leaves are only about half as long as

those of shiny goldenrod, and length reduction in

upper leaves is less pronounced.

Range: Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.

Perennial. Stems 40- 90 cm tall, smooth and glabrous below inflorescence, striate-ribbed: leaves

numerous, alternate, entire, or obscurely serrate, coriaceous, glabrous and somewhat lustrous, linear or

narrowly linear-elliptic, lower leaves 7 - 30 cm long

and 5 - 10 mm wide, gradually reduced going up the

stem to 3 - 5 cm long below inflorescences, 1 - 2 cm

long in inflorescence branches; inflorescence corymbose with finely pubescent branches: heads 6 - 8 mp

long, narrowly campanulate, 7- to l%-flowered, bracts

obtuse, scarious-margined, yellowish; ray flowers

three to four per head, pistillate, yellow; disk flowers

perfect, yellowish; echene glabrous, lo-ribbed; about

1.5 mm long.

adray flowers

I

Leaf and

stem ahtaLl

114
I!

Fragrant Goldenrod-Solidago odora Ait.

Fragrant goldenrod is the most common goldenrod

on southern pine range. It is named for the spicy,

aniselike fragrance of the crushed leaves. This character is not dependable, however, as some plants emit

little or no odor.

Fragrant goldenrod grows mainly on dry sandy

sites, especially in cutover timberlands, pastures, and

abandoned fields. Where competition is light, plants

may reach a height of 5 feet. In dense grass, height

rarely exceeds 2 feet. Stems, arising from thick rootstocks, are hairless and usually reddish brown. The

hairless, lance-shaped leaves are up to 4 inches long

and % inch wide. They generalIy point downward,

and those of the upper stem are greatly reduced.

Heads of the golden-yellow flowers are less than %

inch long and about l/16 inch wide.

Although cattle occasionally graze young growth,

fragrant goldenrod is not a valuable forage plant.

Deer eat the immature inflorescences as well as the

young shoots. Goldenrods are best known for the suffering they cause in the fall among persons prone to

hay fever.

Tall goldenrod, Solidugo altissima L. (S. canadensis var. scabra (MuhI.) T. & G.) is a common roadside

weed throughout the Gulf Coastal Plain. Also common throughout the South is wrinkled goldenrod, S.

rugosa Miller. Its inflorescence is very similar to that

of fragrant goldenrod, but its leaves are ovate and

have prominent veins that lend a wrinkled appearance to the blades. Rough goldenrod, S. mdula Nutt.,

occurs on prairies, open rocky plains, and dry woods,

especially in calcareous soils, from central and east

Texas to Illinois and occasionally in Louisiana.

Leaves are obovate to elliptic-obovate, 1% to 2 inches

long at midstem, and stems and leaves are rough with

microscopic barbs. The inflorescence is similar to that

of fragrant goldenrod. It is reported to be good deer

forage.

Range: Eastern Texas and eastern Oklahoma to

Florida, extending north to southern Ohio, Vermont,

and New Hampshire.

Perennial. Stems 50 - 150 cm tall, glabrous or pilose

in lines; leaves simple, alternate, entire or sparsely

serrate, glabrous except for ciliolate or scabrous margins, linear-lanceolate, retiiculate-veined,4- 16 cm

long, 5 - 15 mm wide, gradually reduced up the stem;

inflorescence variable, but usually a conical panicle of

numerous racemes; racemes bracteolate; heads

secund along upper side of raceme, 6- to B-flowered,

4.0-4.5 mm long, bracts greenish yellow, 2.3 mm

long; flowers with both tubular and liguIate corollas,

rays yellow, conspicuous; achene setose.

curved raceme

I

Habit
Vanilla Trilisa-7’r%saochatissima (Walt. ex J. F. Gmel.) Cass-(Carphephorus odoratissimus (W&. ex J .

F. Gmel.) Hebert)

This plant, perhaps better known as deers-tongue,

is an erect, stout perennial growing 2 to 5 feet tall on

low open pine forests east of the Mississippi River.

Its stems and leaves are hairless and its purple flowers are in a flat-topped terminal cluster. Although the

leaves have the scent of vanilla, the plant is not the

source of true vanilla. The leaves contain coumarin

which is used as a flavoring agent in tobacco and various medicinal compounds. Vanilla trilisa is nutritrious and palatable to livestock during spring and

early summer. In south Georgia grazing trials, it was

relatively high in protein and phosphorus content

during the spring and higher in calcium than any of

the grasses. Hairy trilisa, Trilisa paniculata (Walt. ex

J. F. Gmel.) Cass., occurs throughout the range of

vanilla trilisa, but has a more compact purpleflowered inflorescence and is hairy throughout. The trilisas are most abundant on the sandy pine flatwoods

sites of Florida and Georgia, but are not abundant

enough to contribute more than a minor part of the

cattle diet.

Range: Southeastern Louisiana to Florida and

North Carolina.

Perennial. Stems 80-200 cm tall, glabrous; basal

leaveselliptic to oblanceolate, 1.0 - 3.5 dm long, 2 - 7

cm wide, obtuse, crenate to entire, base attenuate;

stem leaves alternate, usually fewer than 30, ovate to

elliptic, half clasping; heads in corymbs, the lateral

branches usually overtopping the terminal; corollas

rose purple, 4 - 5 mm long; pappus tawny to purplish,

3 - 4 mm long; achene about 2 mm long, lo-ribbed,

dark brown or black.

T. PANICULATA

P

lLOcm lfl

116
Texas Ironweed-vemoniu texana (Gray) Small

Several ironweeds occur across the southern

states. The most common are robust showy weeds

with purple flowers growing in roadside ditches and

other disturbed moist habitats. Texas ironweed is not

usually robust and is apparently the only narrowleaved ironweed on well-drained southern pine sites

west of the Mississippi River. Early leaves resemble

those of swamp sunflower, with which it is often confused. Stems of ironweed are glabrous; those of

swamp sunflower are hairy. Also, ironweed flowers by

midsummer; swamp sunflower does not bloom until

fall. While the larger, weedy ironweeds are undersirable as livestock forage, Texas ironweed may be

grazed occasionally by cattle and deer in the spring.

However, the plant seldom occurs in abundance.

Pinebarrens ironweed, Vernonia angustifoliu

Michx., occurs on sandy well-drained pine sites from

southeast Mississippi to North Carolina. Three varieties of pinebarrens ironweed are recognized, based

mainly on the shape of the floral bract tips. Both

Texas and pinebarrens ironweeds hybridize with several other species of Vemonia

Range: Texas and Oklahoma to southwest Mississippi and southwest Arkansas.

Perennial. Stems erect, 40 - 100 cm tall, glabrate to

puberulent; leaves cauline, scattered, linear to linearlanceolate, 6 - 13 cm long, 0.2 - 1.4 cm broad, acute,

remotely serrate (sometimes prominently toothed),

attenuate to a short petiole, scabrous above, scabrous

to puberulent beneath, margins revolute; fnflorescence loose and open; heads 15 to a&flowered, involucre broadly campanulate, 4-6 mm high, 5- 7 mm

wide; phyllaries imbricate, greenish purple, ciliate,

tips acute to short-acuminate; pappus brownish to

straw colored, often tinged with purple; corollas

9 - 11 mm long; achenes 1.5 - 3.0 mm long.
Miscellaneous Forbs

Although the most abundant and important forbs

on southern forest range are in the composite and

legume families, many other families are represented.

These miscellaneous forbs vary in size, form, appearance, and habitat. They range from insectivorous

sundews,Droseru spp., scarcely larger than a dime, to

the robust pokeweed, with specimens occasionally

attaining 10 feet. Some-such as butterfly milkweed

-have brilliantly colored flowers, while many are

drab and inconspicuous. Numerous species inhabit

only open land; others tolerate heavy shade.

Few are important as forage for cattle; the majority rarely grow in quantity. Many contribute to a

diversity of food plants for deer and other wildlife,

especially birds. All are fire tolerant and most of

those that compete successfully on undisturbed

native range are perennials. Descriptions of several of

the most common follow. Southern bracken, though

not a flowering plant, is included in this group.
‘.

Slender Copperleaf-Acalypha gracilens Gray

The copperleafs, also known as three-seeded mercuries, are annuals of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). Slender copperleaf occurs throughout most of

the eastern United States. Like most annuals, it

attains greater abundance and larger plant size on

sites with little or no competition from perennial

plants. Plants on undisturbed sites may have simple

stems no more than 6 inches tall, while on firelines,

roadsides, and other relatively bare sites, plant

height may reach 2 feet, and stems may have many

lateral branches.

A distinguishing characteristic of slender copperleaf, and copperleafs generally, is the peculiar leaf-like

pistillate flower bracts in the axil of almost every leaf

on the plant. Separate male and female flowers are

produced, with the female flowers at the base of a

spike of male flowers. The coarsely toothed bract conceals the female flowers and the three-seeded fruit it

produces. Male flower spikes protrude from the bract

and may. be as long as half the length of the subtended leaf. Largest leaves are about 1% inches long

and less than ‘/ inch wide, with petioles less than one.

fourth the length of the blades.

Under average range conditions, slender copperleaf produces little herbage and is not considered valuable as livestock forage, although it is a high-use

deer food plant. Seeds are eaten by doves, quail, and

other birds, but it is not considered an important

wildlife food plant except on disturbed areas where

slender copperleaf plants are abundant and well

developed.

Other southern copperleafs include Virginia cop.

perleaf, Acalypha virginica L., a common agricultural

weed that looks like slender copperleaf but has

petioles one-fourth to one-half the length of the leaf

blades, and hophombean copper-leaf, A. ostryifolia

Riddell, which has staminate flowers in leaf axils and

pistillate flowers in terminal spikes. Both may reach

1% feet in height and have finely toothed leaf margins.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Wisconsin, Indiana, and New Hampshire.

Annual. Stems to 30 cm tall, simple or branched, with

short ascending-appressed pubescence; leaves elliptic

to elliptic-lanceolate, 2 - 6 cm long, 0.5 - 2.0 cm wide,

petioles of principal leaves 0.4 - 1.5 cm long, flowers

in axillary spikes with one to five pistillate flowers

near the base, and staminate flowers above; pistillate

bracts with 5 to 13 triangular teeth; capsule about 2

mm in diameter, 3-seeded, pubescent; seeds reddish

to black, ovoid, 1.2 - 1.8 mm long.
Purple Gerardia-AgaZinis purpurea (L.) Pennell-fGerurdiupurpurea L.)

The large pink to rose-purple flowers of purple gerardia add color variation to the dominant yellows of

the fall-blooming sunflowers on open sandy pine

lands. The showy flowers alone make the gerardias

noteworthy on southern pine ranges. Several species

of Agulinis occur throughout the South, but none

exceed purple gerardia in general abundance. The

gerardias, along with many other plants of the fig

wort family (Scrophulariaceae), are parasitic on the

roots of various plants.

With the exception of perennial gerardia, A. tenuifoliu (Vahl.) Raf., which has slender rhizomes, all gerardias are slender annuals with narrow, opposite

leaves. Seed are minute and not important as wildlife

food; forage value for deer and livestock is poor.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to

Nebraska, Minnesota, and southern New England.

Annual. Stems puberulent or scabridulous, striateangled, 40 - 120 cm tall, profusely branched from

upper one-half to two-thirds, the branches spreading;

leaves opposite, linear to narrowly linear-lanceolate,

1 - 4 cm long, 0.5 - 2.0 mm wide, hispidulous above;

flowers in axils of upper leaves, forming indistinct

racemes; pedicels 1 - 4 mm long, usually shorter than

the calyx tube; calyx tube 3 - 4 mm long, truncate or

nearly so, the lobes reduced to minute subulate teeth

0.3 - 2.0 mm long; corolla 1.8 - 3.8 cm long, puberulent, the throat lined with yellow, spotted with purple, lanose at the base of the two upper corolla lobes;

capsule subglobose, 4 - 6 mm in diameter.

120
Butterfly Milkweed-Asckpius tuberosa L.

The bright orange flowers of this milkweed seem

out of place on the dry sandy sites it inhabits. The

color is not common among native plants, and butterfly milkweed is often transplanted to home flower

gardens. Flower color varies from red to yellow,

leaves are alternately arranged, and the plant does

not contain the milky sap generally common to milkweeds. Leaves are numerous, from 1% to 4 inches

long and %I to 1 inch wide, and stems and leaves are

coated with white hair.

Red milkweed, Asclepias hnceoluta Walt., may

have flowers of similar color, but it grows on wet

sites. About a dozen milkweeds have southwide distribution, but none are generally abundant. Other

common milkweeds include: sandhill milkweed, A.

hwnistratu Walt., on sandhills and in dry woods; spider milkweed, A. viridis Walt., and green milkweed,

A. obouata Ell., with greenish flowers on dry sites;

white milkweed, A. uarieguta L., with white flowers;

and broadleaf milkweed, A. Zutifoliu (Torr.) Raf.,

which occurs in open upland woods.

Like other milkweeds, butterfly milkweed is poisonous to livestock, although it is seldom abundant

enough to be considered a hazard. The plant has been

used in Appalachia to treat rheumatism and as an

emetic. Colloquial names include “swallow-wort,”

“pleurisy-root,” and “chigger-weed.”

Range: Arizona to Texas and Florida, extending

north to Colorado, Nebraska, and Minnesota.

Perennial. Stems 20 - 80 cm tall, stout, usually solitary from a thick root crown, branching from the

upper nodes, hirsute to hispid, sap not milky; leaves

numerous, alternate, linear to elliptic, obovate, oblanceolate, or hastate, 4 - 10 cm long, 3 - 25 mm wide,

pilose or hispid, especially beneath; inflorescence

consisting of terminal and axillary hemispherical

umbels 2 - 5 cm broad; corolla red to yellow, the lobes

reflexed, 6.5 - 8.0 mm long, corona 4 - 6 mm in diameter, lateral hood margins not toothed, horns shorter

than hoods; follicles erect, 8 - 15 cm long, 1.0 - 1.5 cm

broad.
Bullnettle-Cnidoscohs stimulosus (Michx.) Engehn. 

& Gray

One encounter with this viciously stinging plant

should provide an indelible mental picture of bullnettle for future recognition. It is found on most deep

sandy soils throughout the South, often growing with

other members of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae)

such as queensdelight and flowering spurge. Plant

height is often less than 1 foot in undisturbed pine

understories but may reach 3 feet or more on firelines

or other disturbed sites.

Leaves are palmately three- to five-lobed on

petioles about as long as the blades. The entire plant

is covered with stinging hairs. Flowers are produced

in branched clusters at the apex of the main stem and

branch tips. Separate male and female flowers are

produced in every cluster with each female flower

producing a three-seeded capsule. Seeds are about W

inch long and are eaten by bobwhite quail and other

birds.

‘Bullnettle, known as “treadsoftly” or “risky bullnettle” is found east of the Mississippi River. West of

the Mississippi River, plants are referred to as Texas

bullnettle, Cnidoscolus texanus (Muell. Arg.) Small.

Texas bullnettle is a coarser, more virulent plant with

larger flowers and seeds than the eastern species. Its

range extends from Texas into Oklahoma, southwest

Arkansas, and central Louisiana. The ranges of the

two species are separated by the Mississippi River

and a gap of approximately 150 miles in Louisiana.

Range: Southeast Louisiana to Florida and Virginia.

Perennial. Stems much-branched, 40- 100 cm tall,

about as wide as tall, hispid with pale aciculate sting

ing hairs; leaves alternate, blades suborbicular in outline, 6 - 15 cm broad, pahnately deeply 3- to 5-lobed,

hispid with stinging hairs; petioles about equal to

their blades, hispid; stipules inconspicuous, 3 - 4 mm

long, deeply 3- to I-toothed; inflorescences terminal,

cymose, pedunculate, determinate, the central flower

usuaIly pistillate, the lateral staminate; staminate

flowers with 9 to 10 stamens; pistillate flowers with

single lobed stigmas; calyx of both type flowers 5-

lobed, white, tube 1 cm or less long; corolla absent;

capsules 3-locular, oblong, 15 - 20 mm long, hispid;

seeds three, oblong, 9 mm or less in length, brown. I

lcm

Fruit

1

rem

122
W001ly Croton-Cmtm capitatus Michx. var. capitatus

Woolly croton, an annual of the spurge family, is

commonly found on sandy soils throughout the

South. It grows sparingly on grazed range unless the

range is severely overgrazed. Plants are often abundant along roads and other disturbed sites.

Stems average 2 to 3 feet tall but occasionally

exceed 6 feet. The upper one-half to one-third is

branched, the branches ascending at 45” or less.

Young plants are thickly coated throughout with

short brownish or dirty-gray hairs. Toward maturity,

the lower stems shed this coating. Hairs divide at the

tip into 8 to 10 radiating branches. This starlike (stellate) construction can be seen with low magnification.

Upper leaves are lance shaped with rounded bases.

They are 1 to 3 inches long and blades are ?4 to VI inch

wide. Petioles are one-fourth to one-half the length of

the blades. Lower leaves are frequently longer and

more oval than the upper.

The camouflaging effect of the woolly coating renders flowers and fruits inconspicuous. Flower clusters

are terminal or in axils of upper leaves. Each cluster

has a spike of male flowers subtended by several

female flowers. At least one female flower in each

cluster matures into a three-seeded capsule about ti

inch in diameter. At maturity, the capsule splits suddenly, ejecting seeds with much force. Seeds are

about 3/16 inch long, oval, and slightly flattened.

A variety of woolly croton, Cmton capitatus var.

Zindheimeti (Englem. & Gray) Muell. Arg., is also

common southwide. It is distinguishable by its

broader leaves with heart-shaped bases and petioles

which may be from one-half to as long as the blades.

The hair coating is reddish brown-much brighter

than that of typical woolly croton.

Woolly croton is toxic to livestock; other species

are probably poisonous also. The poisonous substance is croton oil, a violent cathartic. Because cattle

usually reject woolly croton, even when better foods

are scarce, poisoning is rare. The seeds are a choice

food for doves and quail.

Other species with wide distribution are one-seed

croton, C. monanthogynus Michx., northern croton,

C. gkmddosus var. septentrionalis Muell. Arg., and

silver croton, C. argyranthemus Michx. One-seed cmton grows on calcareous soils and develops only one

seed per capsule. Northern croton is the only croton

with toothed leaves. Silver croton is a perennial with

silvery scales on the leaves and other plant parts and

is common on loose sandy soils of the lower Gulf

Coastal Plain.

Range: Texas to Georgia, extending north to Iowa

and New York.

I

m m

lmm

fruit /two views)

Moluiefemale flower

SFWE OF MALE

f

m m

I

I

ffobt?

Annual. Stems erect to 150 cm tall, branched, thickly

coated with short brownish, stellate pubescence;

leaves 2.5 -7.5 cm long, 5- 20 mm wide, petiole

5 - 25 mm long, simple, alternate, entire, lanceolate,

tapering to sharp point, base rounded; flowers in

compact terminal and axillary clusters: staminate

flowers in a spike above pistillate cluster, pedfcellate

with five sepals, five petals, 7 - 12 stamens; pistillate

flowers sessile, apetalous, with six to eight sepals,

ovary 3-celled, each cell with a style; fruit a globular

dehiscent capsule, about 5 mm long and 7 mm wide;

seeds three per capsule, oval in outline, somewhat

flattened.

123
Rough Buttonweed-Diodia teres Walt.

Better known as poor-joe, this slender annual is

usually present but inconspicuous on sandy pinebluestem range. In competition with better range

plants, poor-joe usually grows as scattered single

stems about 4 inches talL On old fields, firelines, overgrazed range, and other disturbed sites, plants

branch profusely, often forming dense, low-growing

colonies up to 4 feet in diameter. The opposite leaves

are narrowly lanceolate, about 1 inch long and %s

inch wide, sometimes folded and appearing linear.

Small, tubular, white or pinkish flowers are borne

singly in leaf axils. Bristles arising from the stipules

between the opposite leaves provide a distinguishing

characteristic. The clusters of bristles persist after

fruit and leaves fall.

On freshly burned range, cattle eat young plants

along with grass herbage. As plants mature, palatability declines rapidly. Deer eat the foliage, and turkey, quail, and other birds eat the seeds. I Several varieties of rough buttonweed are recognized in the Southeast, based on length of stipular

,and leaf-tip bristles and nature of stem pubescence.

Virginia buttonweed, Diodia virginiana L., is a

spreading perennial common on poorly drained sites.

Cattle eat it readily, and its prostrate habit enables

plants to stand heavy grazing. A fleshy taproot

allows survival during drought. Although its flowers

and fruits resemble those of rough buttonweed, its

leaves are elliptical with width about one-third the

length.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Kansas, Michigan, and Connecticut.

Annual. Stems to 30 cm tall, pubescent, simple or

branched, erect to spreading; leaves simple, opposite,

entire, linear or linear-lanceolate, 1 - 4 cm long, 2 - 3

mm wide, scabrous; stipules membranous, with marginal bristles longer than fruit; flowers solitary in

upper leaf axils, 4-merous; corolla white to pink,

gamopetalous, 4 - 5 mm long, @yx about 2 mm long,

sepals acute; fruit a 2- or rarely 3-locular c,apsule 4 - 5

mm long, individual carpels hard and indehiscent.

Sfolk ti’ defail kmz3in

,

Hobit

124
Button-Snakeroot-Eryngium yuccifolium Michx.

But,ton-snakeroot is a member of the parsley family (Umbelliferae) which includes carrots, celery, and

parsnips as well as the deadly water-hemlock, Cicutu

maculutu L., and poison-hemlock, Conium maculatum

L. It is a deep-rooted perennial, found in open woodlands on a wide range of sites, spreading by short

rootstocks. Stems reach 3 feet in height.

Unlike most members of the parsley family, button-snakeroot has neither divided leaves nor a flattopped inflorescence. The parallel-veined leaves

resemble those of yucca, and the prickly flower heads

appear thistlelike. Basal leaves may reach 18 inches

in length, but upper leaves are shorter. Blades, l/z to

1% inches wide at the base, taper gradually to a sharp

point. On early leaves, bristles may exceed an inch in

length, but on later (upper) leaves, they average less

than % inch.

The inflorescence consists of round, many-flowered

heads, from ‘/z to more than 1 inch in diameter. Each

head terminates a stout branch of the sparsely

branched inflorescence. Individual flowers have five

inconspicuous white, or sometimes bluish, petals.

Because of sharp scales and harsh, persistent styles,

the heads appear and feel bristly. Dry inflorescences

and leaves persist through the winter.

Cattle graze the leaves before flower stalks emerge,

but palatability declines sharply toward maturity.

Although this species decreases under heavy use, it

rates only fair in forage value.

Although several other Eryngium species grow in

the South, none has the long, bristled, parallel-veined

leaves of button-snakeroot. Simpleleaf eryngo, E.

integrifolium Walt., is a wet-site species with short,

narrow, toothed leaves and blue flowers. Another

common blue-flowered species, creeping eryngo, E.

prostratum Nutt. ex DC., is a low plant of moist sites,

with toothed, ovate leaves on petioles about as long

as the blades.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Kansas, Minnesota, and New Jersey.

Perennial. Stems 30 - 100 cm tall, stiffly erect and

solitary from woody root crown, glabrous; leaves linear, parallel-veined, stiff, with one to three linear

spines at regularly spaced intervals along each margin; basal blades 15 - 90 cm long, 1 - 3 cm broad,

Leaf hose

I

km

Leaf tip

upper blades reduced; inflorescence a terminal cyme

with one to several flower branches in axils of upper

leaves, each branch terminated by a long-peduncled

ovate head, usually with two smaller heads below,

their peduncles opposite and subtended by leaflike

bracts; heads many-flowered, each flower above a

stiff, sharp bract, terminal head 1 - 3 cm long, 1 - 2

cm wide, subtended by whorl of linear-lanceolate

bracts; flow,ers 5-merous, sepals acute, stiff, persistent, shorter than floral bract, petals deciduous, styles

two, persistent on fruit, exceeding all other floral

parts and bract; fruit an oblong cremocarp, 2 - 3 mm

long.

125
Flowering Spurge-&qhdkz cordutu I.,.

This slender, somewhat showy plant is one of the

most common members of the spurge family in the

southeastern United States. Like many spurges, it

occurs most commonly on dry sandy soils but may be

found on any upland pine site. Flowering spurge is a

variable species representing a very variable group

within the Euphorbiaceae. Some populations may be

hairless, others extremely hairy.

Flowers are produced throughout the growing season. The four or five white “petals” that give the

plant its showy appearance are actually the bracts of

a cup (cyathium) in which the separate male and

female flowers are borne. No true sepals or. petals are

produced. The male flower consists of a single stamen

and there are 10 to 15 in each cyathium; the female

flower is a single pistil which produces a threeseeded

capsule; seeds are ‘/s to %3 inch long.

Most species of Euphorbia are poisonous, and flowering spurge has a history of livestock poisoning.

Animals do not seek out the green plants, which have

milky juice, but will take young plants along with

other green forage. Toxicity is not destroyed by

drying, and hay containing flowering spurge is palatable to livestock. Seeds are eaten by doves, turkey,

quail, and other birds. The plant is rated a high-use

plant for white-tailed deer.

Several closely related spurges have petal-like

bracts surrounding the flowers but bracts are smaller

and may be pink, red, greenish, or white. Euphorbiu

zinniifloru Small has leaves subtending inflorescences

about as large as regular stem leaves; flowering

spurge has subtending leaves greatly reduced.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to

Nebraska, Minnesota, and New York.

Perennial. Stems lo- 80 cm tall, from stout rootstock; leaves alternate below, whorled at base of inflorescence branches, mostly opposite in the inflorescences, entire, linear, oblong, elliptic or oblanceolate,

2 - 7 cm long, 0.3 - 3.5 cm wide, often revoiute, sessile

or petiolate, glaucous or lighter green beneath, peduncles 0.2 - 5.0 mm long; cyathia 3 - 10 mm wide;

petaloid appendages white, l-5 mm long,

longer than wide; capsule glabrous, 2-3 mm long,

pedicels 3 - 4 mm long; seeds 2.2 - 2.5 mm long.

126
Partridgeberry-hfitchehz repens L.

This attractive, evergreen, trailing herb is found

throughout the southeastern states. It is most abundant in low moist woods, such as stream bottoms,

and thrives in fairly dense hardwood shade. A pair of

white (or sometimes pinkish) tubular, fragrant flowers about I/ inch long produce a red, fused, double

berry about W inch in diameter. Both flowers and

berries are aromatic.

Partridgeberry is in the madder family (Rubiaceae), which includes the ubiquitous annual, rough

buttonweed. The attractive foliage of partridgeberry

is used for decoration; its small leaves and ease.of

rooting make it a desirable terrarium plant. Deer eat

the foliage, and berries are eaten by bobwhite quail,

other birds, and small mammals.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Minnesota and southwest Newfoundland.

Perennial. Stems prostrate, puberulent or glabrate;

leaves opposite, ovate, 8-20 mm long, glabrous,

leathery; flowers in pairs on a short terminal peduncle, the bases of the two calyces usually fused; calyx

3 - 4 mm long, lobes minute; corolla white or tinged

with pink, tube 9 - 14 mm long, lobes ovate, 3 - 4 mm

long, pubescent on the inner surface: stamens four,

well erserted; berry red (rarely white), paired, fused,

7 - 10 mm broad, aromatic.

I

lcm
Pokeweed-Phytolacca americana L.

Pokeweed is a common “barn-yard” plant throughout the eastern one-third of the United States and

adjacent Canada. On forest range it is found primarily along fence rows and on disturbed site such as

windrows on recently cleared areas. Height is commonly 6 feet or less, but on cleared, productive sites

with little competition plants may grow to a height of

10 feet.

The broad, smooth leaves are from 3 - 12 inches

long. Flowers are produced from May until the first

frost, and the shiny, dark purple berries hang in 2- to

g-inch long clusters attached opposite the upper

leaves on each stem and branch. Stems and flower

stalks are purplish.

Although pokeweed can be poisonous to humans

and livestock, poisoning is rare. Young shoots, when

*pr,operly prepared, are safe for human consumption.

The plant has an unpleasant smell and is unpalatable

to grazing animals. The large fleshy taproot is the

most poisonous part, and pigs ha* been poisoned by

eating the roots. Deer eat the plant during spring and

early summer, and several species of birds and small

mammals utilize the berries. Mature berries are

slightly flattened, about % inch in diameter, and each

normally contains 10 seeds.

A form of pokeweed with erect rather than drooping flower stalks has been separated as Phytolacca

rigidu Small in some books, but is included in P. amer

icana in NLSPN (USDA 1982). The form is apparently common throughout the range of pokeweed, but

is not considered a distinct taxon.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to

southern Ontario and New England.

Perennial. Stems 1 - 3 m tall from large fleshy rootstock; leaves alternate, glabrous, lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, entire, 8 - 30 cm long, 3 - 12 cm wide,

acute, base rounded to cuneate, petioles 1 - 5 cm long;

racemes 5 - 20 cm long, erect to nodding, pedicels

bracteate; flowers perfect; sepals five, green to whitish, 2 - 3 mm long, persistent in fruit; corolla absent,

stamens 5 to 30, ovary superior; berry 5- to 12.carpellate, purplish black, 4 -6 mm long, 7 - 10 mm in

diameter; seeds 2.5 - 3.0 mm long, flattened.

128
Southern Bracken--PterXum aquilinum (L.) Kuhn var. pseudocaudutum (Clute) Heller

Southern bracken, a fern of the family Polypodiaceae, is one of the few conspicuous nonflowering

plants on pine ranges. It is common on various sites

across the South, but is most abundant on welldrained sandy soils under an open pine canopy.

Bracken lacks vertical stems. Coarse, stiffly erect

fronds rise to a height of 1 to 5 feet from hairy, underground stems. The frond blade, broadly triangular in

shape, consists of opposite, finely divided segments.

Fronds usually mature and die before the first frost

.and the dead fronds stand throughout the winter.

Bracken not only spreads by rhizomes, often covering

extensive areas, bnt also reproduces by spores.

Southern bracken is toxic to livestock, with horses

.xnore susceptible than cattle. Because fronds are

apparently unpalatable except in early spring, and a

great quantiy must be eaten to produce toxicity

symptoms, losses are infrequent. Poisoning has

txmwmd when cattle previously unexposed to

brackenweremovedinspringtoanareawithan

a3m&nce of bracken. Regular observation of animal

condition and forage utilization level should detect

lwacktm Mediation in time to prevent losses. Toxicity

is apparently due to the breakdown of thiamine in the

blood. With yearlong moderate graxing, infested

areas normally can be safely grazed, but familiarity

with the plant and its toxicity may save cattlemen

from severe losses Utilization of new fro&is3 followingaprescribedbumorwildfireinmidspringt3rlater

should be monitored frequently.

Cattle and deer may graxe early growth in spring

along with new grass, but as fronds mature, animals

normally reject bracken for more palatable species. It

is rated a low-use plant for deer.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Massachusetts, then inland to Oklahoma, Missouri, I&iana, and Ohio.

Perennial. Rhizomes horizontal, hairy, black, elongate, forking, and extensively creeping fronds tripinnately compound, 30 - 150 cm tall, coarse, upright,

borne singly and alternately near ends of rhizomes;

stipes continuous with the rhizome, base dark brown,

with scattered hairs, upper stipe straw colored, glabrous; blades 20 - 50 cm long, tripinnate, broadly triangular in outline with three main divisions; pinnules

oblong to linear, entire to pinnate, the terminal segments conspicuously elongate, 7 - 15 times longer

than broad, margins revolute to entire or undulate;

sori marginal, mostly continuous; sporangia borne

between the modified inrolled margin of the pimmle

segment (outer’ indusium) and the indefinite inner

indusium; spores minute.

I

km

STALK OF FROND

RHIZOME

I

In

.25 cm

129
Narrowleaf Mount8jnmint-Pycnanthemum tenuifolium Schrad.

This aromatic member of the mint family (Labiatae) is common throughout the South, growing in

roadside ditches, firelines, stump holes, and other

moist places, as well as dry prairies and upland forests. Like many other members of the mint family, it

has four-angled stems, opposite leaves, and small

tubular two-lipped flowers. Leaves are about %s inch

wide and 1% inch to 2 inches long. Small heads of

white to pinkish, purple-dotted flowers are in terminal clusters at the tip of each branch. The entire

plant is hairless.

Slender mountainmint, Pycnunthemum flexuosum

(Walt.) BSP., has been confused with narrowleaf

mo~tainmint; in several books, the two species

names are shown to be synonymous. However, P.

fkxuosum has broader leaves-to over 1% inch-and

has fine grayish hairs on all surfaces or at least on

stem angles and midribs of leaves. Whereas narrowleaf mount&mint is found southwide, P. frexuosum

does not occur west of Alabama.

Whiteleaf mountainmint, P. albescens T. & G., is

almost as common as narrowleaf mountainmint from

east Texas and Missouri to .Florida. Leaves of white

leaf average about 1% inches long and % inch wide,

widest near the middle or slightly below. The terminal one-half to two-thirds of each margin has six to

eight widely spaced shallow teeth. Upper leaf surfaces of lower leaves are dull olive green and lower

surfaces are greenish gray. Upper leaves and inflorescence bracts are conspicuously whitened with a

dense but thin coating of grayish-white hair. Cluster

mountainmint, P. muticum (Michx.) Pers., similar to

whiteleaf, grows in low pinewoods.

Prairie bluet, Houston&z nigricans (Lam.) Fem.-

which is not in the mint family-has small, narrow

leaves, four-angled stems, and flower clusters that

resemble those of narrowleaf mountainmint. Early

stem leaves of prairie bluet may be 11% inches long

and r/s inch wide, although later leaves of the upper

stem and branches resemble the needle-like leaves of

narrowleaf .mount ainmint. The tubular corolla of prairie bluet flowers is terminated by four small, regular

lobes, while narrowleaf mountainmint has a twolipped corolla typical of the mints.

Mountainmints are not considered valuable as forage for livestock, although they are rated as good

deer-food plants and as seed producers for wildlife.

Range: Texas to Georgia, extending north to

Minnesota and New England.

Perennial. Stems 40 - 120 cm tall, (l-angled, glabrous;

leaves linear to linear-elliptic, 2 - 6 cm long, 1 - 4 mm

wide, acute, entire, glabrous; inflorescence headlike in

flat or concave corymbs, each cymule 5- 10 mm

broad; bra& pubescent, acute; calyx pubescent, actinomorphic to slightly zygomorphic, tube 2.5-3.0

mm long, teeth lanceolate, l.O- 1.5 mm long, acute;

corolla bilabiate, white to pinkish, often purple-dotted-pubescent, 3 -5 mm long; seeds black, oblong,

0.9 - 1.0 mm long, short-pubescent at apex,
Maryland Meadowbeauty-Rhexia matim~

L.

The meadowbeauties provide color on low, open

pinelands during the period of relatively few blooms

between the spring and fall flowering peaks. Rhexia is

the only herbaceous genus of the tropical melastoma

family (Melastomataceae) native to the United

States. All species have opposite, mainly threenerved leaves and showy, four-petaled flowers with

large yellow stamens. Flower color of the more common species is rose to purple; several species have

white-flowered forms, and one species has yellow

flowers.

Maryland meadowbeauty, which is one of the most

abundant species southwide, grows 1 to 3 feet tail

from underground rootstocks. It has lavender, rosepurple, or white petals and hairy stems and leaves.

Leaves are up to 2% inches long. Most leaves are

elliptic in outline, but leaf shape is highly variable.

Flowers are about 1% inches wide.

Yellow meadowbeauty, Rhexia lutea Walt., has

about the same geographic range as Maryland meadowbeauty but is confined to wet pinelands, prairie,

or bogs of the lower Coastal Plain. It is slightly

smaller than Maryland meadowbeauty, has narrowly

elliptic to oblanceolate or obovate leaves and hairy

stems and leaves, and is the only Rhexiu species with

yellow flowers. Rhexiu petiolatu Walt. is a slender,

often unbranched meadowbeauty with hairless stems

and petals about the color of Maryland meadowbeauty. It is frequently associated with yellow meadowbeauty on bogs and wet flatwoods sites.

The largest species, which may reach 40 inches tall

on wet Coastal Plain pinelands from North Carolina

.to Louisiana, is R. alifunus Walt. It is a smooth, hairless plant with a thick spongy root and larger darkercolored flowers than Maryland meadowbeauty. Leaf

margins of R. ulifunus are not toothed, but another

species about equal in size, common meadowbeauty,

R. virginicu L., has sharply toothed margins on elliptic to ovate leaves.

The. meadowbeauties are not considered valuable

as forage for livestock, although deer eat Maryland

meadowbeauty in the spring and summer. The tiny

sf3eds are not important as food for wildlife.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to OkIahoma, Kentucky, and Massachusetts.

Perennial. Stems frequently colonial from elongate,

horizontal roots, to 60 cm talI, hirsute; leaves linear,

elliptic, lanceolate, ovate, or obovate, to 6.5 cm long

and 2 cm wide, sparsely hirsute, 3-nerved, acute, ciliate-serrate, base rounded to attenuate; sepals linear,

1.0-2.5 mm long; petals purplish to white, lo- 25

mm long; anthers 6- 10 mm long; capsule 4.5-7.0

mm in diameter, hypanthium 6 - 10 mm long, glandular-hirsute or glabrous, neck about as long as body.

I

lcm

, R. ALI FANU:

rHobif

131
Ruellia-Rue&z hum& Nutt.

Several species of RueUia grow throughout the

South, and flowers of all are similar: showy violet or

purple trumpets with five spreading lobes. Leaves are

opposite and in most species broad and attractive,

reflecting the characteristics of its tropical family,

Acanthaceae, from which come several attractive

house plants, including the zebra-plant, Aphekzndra

squarrosa Nees. The native species of Rue& are

known by some as “wild-petunias.”

Ruellia humilis is found throughout most of the

eastern half of the United States. In the South it

occurs in dry open woods, prairies, or on rocky hillsides. It differs from another common species, R. car

oliniensis (Walt. ex J.F. Gmel.) Steud., mainly in the

presence or absence of leaf petioles; leaves of R.

humilis are sessile while those of R. caroliniensis have

distinct petioles. Moreover, the latter is found in bottoinlands and other generally wetter sites than the

former.

Stems may be 3 feet tall and branched where herbaceous competition is light, but in fairly heavy herbaceous ground cover, such as found on open longleaf

pine sites, stems are 1 foot or less and unbranched.

Leaves may be up to 4 inches long and 2 inches wide.

Stem and leaves appear bristly with dense white

hairs, although hairiness, like other plant characters,

is variable. Flowers are up to 2l% inches long, without

stalks, with the corolla tube about two-thirds the

length, and five broad lobes. The calyx is about 1 inch

long, separated almost to the base into five persistent

narrow lobes. The slender brownish capsule is only

slightly longer than the calyx lobes.

Ruellia ciliosa (Pursh) Long is a dwarf plant on dry

sandy soils from Louisiana along the Coastal Plain to

South Carolina. Leaves have definite petioles and

often form a rosette at ground level. Ruellia peduncuZata Torr. ex Gray is found on pinelands west of the

Mississippi River. Flowers are solitary to several in

leaf axils or on axillary branches. Each flower is on a

stalk as long as the flower.

Although ruellia seeds have been found in bobwhite quail crops, and deer graze the leaves in the

ipring, wildlife food value of the genera is limited by

its lack of abundance. Its greatest value may be for

its showy flowers.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Iowa

and Pennsylvania.

Perennial. Stems to 1 m tall, pubescent, branching

leaves ovate, elliptic or lanceolate, pubescent, to 6 cm

long and 3 cm wide, sessile or subsessile; flowers in

sessile or subsessile axillary glomerules; calyx lobes

linear-setaceous, 15-25 cm long; ‘corolla 2- 3 cm

long, lobes to 1.5 cm long, capsule glabrous, 12 - 15

mm long, about 4 mm broad; seeds pale, 2- 3 mm

broad.

132
I

Queensdelight-Stihgiu ~yhatica L.

This coarse perennial of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae) grows on dry or well-drained sites throughout the Southeast and as far west as New Mexico.

Several stems, up to 32 inches tall, arise from a

woody root crown. Each stem is unbranched or may

have a whorl of branches below the terminal inflorescence. Pistillate flowers, which produce three-seeded

capsules about W inch in diameter, are borne near the

base of a spike of male flowers that may be as long as

5 inches. Leaves are,elliptical to lance shaped, about 2

inches long and I% inch wide, with fine blunt teeth on

the margins.

Queensdelight, like other milky-juiced members of

this family, normally is not eaten by livestock. Stillingiu treculiuna (Muell. Arg.) I. M. Johnst., a species of

west Texas and Mexico, is recognized as poisonous,

thus queensdelight should be suspect. Seeds are

eaten by bobwhite quail and other birds and small

mammals, but because of limited plant distribution

and low seed production per plant, queensdelight is

not considered a valuable source of wildlife food.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Missouri and Virginia.

Perennial. Stems several to many from a woody

crown, to 80 cm tall, branching immediately below

terminal inflorescences; leaves alternate, elliptic to

lanceolate or oblanceolate, 3.5 - 9.0 cm long, 1.0 - 4.5

cm wide, margins serrulate or crenulate; inflorescence

a terminal spike 5 - 12 cm long, pistillate flowers

basal, staminate above, conspicuous saucer-shaped

glands at base of flower; capsule 2- to 3-seeded, 8 - 10

mm long; seed 5 - 9 mm long.
Nettleleaf Noseburn-%zgia urticifolia Michx.

This stinging plant of the spurge family is common

in sandy fields and open forests throughout the

South. It does not sting as viciously as bullnettle but

is much more common. Stems are normally 1 to 2 feet

tall, often longer and reclining on more shaded sites.

Leaves are alternate and may be less than 1 inch to 3

inches long; width is slightly less than half the length.

Width is ,greatest near the base, and the straight or

shallowly heart-shaped base and the straight but

abruptly converging margins produce a long-triangular leaf shape. Leaf margins are coarsely toothed.

All above-ground plant parts are coated with soft

white hairs intermixed with stiff, white, stinging

hairs. Like most members of the spurge family, noseburns have separate male and female flowers on the

same plant. In nettleleaf noseburn, one or two female

(seed-producing) flowers are borne below numerous

male flowers in spikes produced in the axils of upper

leaves.

Several other noseburns are common within the

range of nettleleaf. Wavyleaf noseburn, Tragia w-ens

L., is a slightly smaller plant than nettleleaf, with

leaves about the same length but narrow, with

smooth, almost imperceptibly wavy margins. Leaves

are widest near the middle and taper toward both

ends. Plant hairs are sparse with no stinging hairs.

Small noseburn, !I! smallii Shinners, is another nonstinging plant common on sandy soils across the

South. It is usually 5 to 10 inches tall and leaves are

broadly oval to elliptic, with coarsely toothed margins. Heartleaf noseburn, T. cordata Michx., is a

stinging, trailing or twining plant, with heart-shaped

leaves whose petioles are about as long as the blade.

Seeds of the noseburns, like those of most members of the spurge family, are excellent wildlife food.

Because of low plant densities and low seed production per plant, however, noseburns are seldom listed

as valuable food plants.

Range: Texas and Arkansas to Florida and North

Carolina.

Perennial. Stems 20 - 70 cm tall, erect to decumbent;

leaves triangular-lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 2 - 6

cm long, 0.5 - 4.0 cm wide, margins simply or doubly

serrate, base truncate to cordate, petioles 5 - 15 mm

long; racemes 1- 4 cm long in axils of upper leaves,

with one to two pistillate flowers below 11 to 40 staminate flowers, staminate bracts shorter than persistent bases of staminate pedicels; fruit about 4 mm

long and 8 mm broad; seed 3 - 4 mm long.

Sn

Flowering branch

mbit

134
Rose Verbena-Verbena canadensis (L.) Britton

The verbenas or vervains of the Verbenaceae family are represented across the South by approximately 20 species. Several, like rose verbena, are low,

prostrate to ascending perennial plants with showy

pink to purple (sometimes white) flowers. Others are

erect, weedy annual or perennial plants with inconspicuous flowers. The verbenas are close taxonomitally to the mint family (Labiatae) and have opposite

leaves and four-angled stems, as do many members of

the mint family. The two families differ in the following characteristics:

inflorescence

Verbenaceae

spike or

raceme; pedieels less than

1 mm long;

calyx less than

5 mm long

Labiatae

not a spike or

raceme (if so,

pedicels more

than 1 mm

and calyx

more than 5

mm)

flowers weakly, if at strongly zygoall, zygo- morphic

morphic

ovary lobeless, style

apical

4-lobed; style

arising

between lobes

Leaves of rose verbena are triangular-ovate to lanceolate in outline, although they may be lobed or

divided. The hybrid garden verbena, Verbena hybridu

Hort. ex Wm., which may escape from cultivation,

resembles rose verbena. Its leaves, however, are

toothed but not divided, and its flowers may be one of

several colors. Moss verbena, V. tenuisectu Briq., is a

prostrate mat former with finely divided leaves and

showy flowers. A tall, unattractive, weedy verbena,

K bmsiliensis Vell., is common on roadsides throughout the South. There are several attractive verbenas

other than the prostrate species; slender verbena, V.

hdei Small, is an example.

Several of the tall weedy verbenas are listed as

medium-to-high-use food plants for white-tailed deer

in Mississippi. Although other verbenas provide forage for livestock and deer, and seeds are eaten by

birds, verbenas are not generally abundant on undisturbed range and are not considered valuable food

plants. Rose verbena is included here because of its

showy flowers.

The flowers of several species of phlox, Phlox spp.,

resemble those of rose verbena. Although leaves of

1

lcm

FTowef

7

. . .,

4xT

Hobit

both phlox and verbena are opposite, phlox leaves

have entire margins, while those of verbena are

toothed or divided.

Range: Texas to Florida, extending north to Colorado, Kansas, Iowa, and Illinois.

Perennial. Stems decumbent or ascending, pilose,

10 - 40 cm long; leaves triangular-ovate to lanceolate,

pinnately dissected or lobed, petioles 0.6-2.5 cm

long; inflorescence a single spike terminating each

branch, erect or ascending, 2 - 15 cm long, densely

many flowered; calyx 10 - 13 mm long, lobes subulate-setaceous; bracts shorter than or equalling calyx;

corolla tube twice the length of calyx, pink to purple;

seed cylindrical, about 3 mm long and 0.5 mm broad,

surface reticulate-ridged.

136
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(Southern and Southeastern Forest Experiment

Stations). A forest atlas of the South (unnumbered

publication). New Orleans, LA, and Asheville, NC:

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service;

1969.27 p.

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Service. National list of scientific plant names.

SCS TP-159. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of

Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service; 1982,2 vol.

Ward, Daniel B. Checklist of the vascular flora of

Florida. Part I. Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Sphenop

sida, Filicinae, Gymnospermae, Monocotyledoneae. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida Agricultural Experiment Station; 1968; Bulletin 726

(Technical). 72 p.

Warren, R. C.; Hurst, G. A. Ratings of plants in pine

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Bulletin 18. Mississippi State, MS: Mississippi

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1981.14 p.

Webster, Grady L. The genera of Euphorbiaceae in

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151.294 p.

Wolff, Simon E. A guide to plant names in TexasOklahoma-Louisiana-Arkansas. rev. C. A. Rechenthin. Ft. Worth, TX: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service; 1954.91 p.

137
GLOSSARY

achene. A small, dry, one-seeded

fruit with a tight, thin, indehiscent ovary wall. Seed attached

to ovary wall at one point only.

acicular, aciculate. Needlelike.

actinomorphic. Capable of being

divided into equal and similar

halves along two or more planes:

radially symmetrical (see zygomorphic).

acuminate. Tapering gradually to a

point.

alternate. Leaves or other parts

placed singly at different levels

on a stem or axis.

annual. A plant that completes its

life cycle in 1 year or less.

anther. The pollen-bearing part of

the stamen.

anthesis. The period when anthers

disseminate pollen or stigmas

are receptive to pollen.

apetalous. Without petals.

apical. At the tip.

apiculate. Ending abruptly in a

short, sharp point.

appressed. Closely pressed against.

article. A section of a fruit separated from adjacent sections by

a constriction or joint, as in

Desmodium.

attenuate. Tapering gradually;

more gradual than acuminate.

auricle. An ear-shaped projection

or appendage.

awn. A bristlelike appendage, often

the extension of nerves or veins

in floral bracts.

axil. The upper angle between a

leaf or branch and the stem to

which it is attached.

barbellate. Finely barbed.

beak. A slender, pointed tip some

times double; appearing as an

open or gaping beak.

berry. A fleshy, indehiscent fruit

with one to many seeds.

bfpinnate. Twice pinnate.

blade. The upper expanded part of

a leaf or petal.

bract. A reduced or modified leaf

subtending a flower or flower

cluster. bractlet. Small bract.

bracteate. Having bracts.

bracteole. A secondary bract or

bractlet.

bunchgrass. A grass that habitually grows in a well-defined tuft,

as opposed to those spreading

by stolons or rhizomes.

caducous. Falling early.

callus. The hard, sharp-pointed

base of certain grass spikelets or

florets.

calyx. The sepals, collectively.

campanulate. Bell shaped.

canescent. Coated with gray

pubescence.

capillary. Hairlike.

capitate. Forming a dense or compact cluster; in heads.

capsule. A dry, dehiscent, usually

many-seeded fruit, with two or

more carpels.

carpel.A simple pistil or a division

of a compound pistil.

caryopsis. The one-seeded, indehiscent fruit or grain of a grass,

with seedcoat fused to ovary

Wall.

catkin. A dry, scaly, pendulous

spike,’ usually unisexual, commonly staminate.

caudex. The persistent base of a

perennial forb.

cauline. Attached directly to the

main stem.

cespitose. In tufts or clumps.

chaff. Small, thin scales or bracts,

becoming dry and membranous.

ciliate. Fringed with marginal

hairs.

ciliolate. Minutely ciliate.

clavate.. Clublike; gradually thickened toward the apex. clavellate:

the diminutive.

cleistogamous. A type of self-pollinating, non-opening flower.

collar. The outer area of a grass

leaf where blade and sheath join.

compound. Composed of two or

more similar parts.

cordate. Heart shaped; used primarily to describe leaf bases

with he&like lobes.

coriaceous. Leathery in texture.

corm. A bulblike, but solid, base of

a stem, often subterranean.

corolla. The petals, collectively.

corona. A crown-like structure in

flowers of Asclepias, resulting

from modification of the

anthers.

corymb. A flat-topped, indeterminate inflorescence, with outer

flowers maturing first.

cremocarp. The dry, dehiscent,

two-seeded fruit of plants in the

family Umbelliferae.

crenate. With coarse, rounded

teeth.

culm. The stem of a grass or sedge.

cuneate. Wedge shaped or narrowly triangular, with the point

downward.

cyathium. The specialized involucrate inflorescence of Euphor

bia

cyme. A flat-topped determinate

inflorescence, with the central

flowers opening first. cymule: a

small or few-flowered cyme.

decumbent. Reclining, but with

apices ascending.

decurrent.Pointing downward.

dehiscent. Opening at maturity by

slits or valves to discharge the

contents.

deltoid. Triangular.

dentate. Toothed, with sharp,

spreading, coarse indentations

perpendicular to the margin.

diadelphous. Having stamens with

filaments united in two, often

unequal, clusters.

digitate. Handlike; compound,

with members arising from one

point.

dioecious. Bearing unisexual flowers, with the staminate and pistillate borne on different plants.

discoid. Having only disk flowers.

disk flower. The tubular, regular

flowers usually crowded in the

center of the flower head in

Compositae, as distinguished

from the outer, ligulate, ray

flowers.

drupe. A fleshy fruit with the inner

ovary walI hardened around the

one or more seeds in the center.

138
ellipsoid. Elliptical in outline; three

dimensional.

emarginate. Shallow-notched at

the tip.

entire. Without marginal teeth or

lobes.

equitant. Leaves alternate in two

ranks, each leaf overlapping the

leaf above.

exserted. Projecting beyond; not

included.

fascicle. A close cluster of flowers,

leaves, stems, or roots.

filiform. Threadlike.

fimbriate. Fringed.

flabellate. Fan shaped.

floret. A small flower, usually one

of a dense cluster, in grasses and

sedges; the unit of a spikelet.

follicle. A dry fruit developed from

a single ovary, dehiscing along

one suture.

forb. A herb other than a grass,

sedge, or rush.

frond. The leaf of .fems and fern

allies, usually pinnately lobed or

divided.

fusiform. Spindleshaped, broadest

in the middle and tapering

towards both ends.

gamopetalous. With the petals at

least partially joined together.

gamosepalous. With sepals united.

geniculate. Bent abruptly.

glabrous. Devoid of hairs.

glaucous. Whitened with a waxy

bloom.

globose. Spherical.

glomerule. A cyme condensed into

a headlike cluster.

glume. A chafflike bract, subtending a grass spikelet.

habit. The general appearance of a

plant.

hastate. Arrowhead shaped, with

basal lobes pointing outward.

head. A dense cluster of stalkless

flowers.

herb. A plant that does not develop

a persistent above-ground stem.

hirsute. Covered with long, stiff

hairs.

hispid. Stiff, bristly pubescent.

bispidulous: the diminutive.

hyaline. Transparent or translucent.

hypantbium. Floral cup formed by

fusion of stamens, sepals and

petals.

imbricate. Overlapping, either spirally or vertically.

indehiscent. Not opening at maturity.

indument. Any hairy covering or

pubescence.

indusium. Covering of a sorus (in

fens).

inflorescence. The flowering part of

a plant.

innovation. A basal shoot of a perennial grass.

internode. The part of the stem

between two successive nodes or

joints.

involucre. The whorl of leaflike

bracts surrounding a flower or

flower cluster at its base.

irregular. Having flowers with petals or sepals unequal in size or

shape.

keel. The two lower united petals of

a papilionaceous legume flower.

Also, the projecting midrib on

the underside of a laterally compressed grass leaf, glume, or

lemma.

lanceolate. Lance shaped; several

times longer than broad, broadest below the middle and

tapered toward the apex.

lanose. Woolly.

leaflet. A single division of a compound leaf.

legume. A plant of the family Leguminosae; the fruit or pod of

such plants that is one-carpelled,

dehiscent, usually severalseeded.

lemma. The lower, outermost of the

two bracts of the grass floret.

lenticular. Lens shaped; biconvex.

ligule. In grasses a thin, membranous, hairy, or ridgelike appendage on the inside of the leaf

where blade and sheath join: in

composites the flattened, strap

like corolla of the ray flowers.

liliaceous. Possessing characteristics typical of Liliaceae.

linear. Long and narrow, with parallel sides.

locule. One of the chambers in a

compound ovary or in the fruit;

also applied to the cavities of an

anther.

loment. A legume fruit, flattened

and strongly constricted

between seeds, usually breaking

at maturity into one-seeded

segments or articles.

membranous. P&hmentlike.

-merous. A suffix indicating the

number of parts present in each

floral series; e.g., fivemerous-a

flower with 5 petals, 5 sepals,

and 5 stamens.

midrib. The central vein of a leaf.

monoecious. Bearing only unisexual flowers, with the staminate

and pistillate borne separately

on the same plant.

mucronate. With a short, small,

abrupt tip.

nectary. A small, nectar-secreting

gland.

nerve. An unbranched, usually

straight, vein or rib.

neuter. Without functional stamens or pistils.

node. A joint, especially of grass

stems, giving rise to one or more

leaves.

oblanceolate. Invert-lanceolate.

oblique. Slanting; attached at an

angle.

obovate. Egg shaped with broadest

portion at the top.

obovoid. Obovate in outline, three

dimensional.

obsolete. Rudimentary or not evident.

opposite. At the same level, on

either side of a stem or axis.

orbicular. Circular.

ovary. The enlarged ‘base of the

pistil that encloses the ovules

and later ripens into the fruit.

ovate. Egg shaped in outline,

broadest below the middle.

ovoid. Ovate in outline, threedimensional.

palea. The inner or upper bract of

the grass floret.

palmate. Arising from a common

point, as the fingers of a hand;

digitate.

panicle. A compound indetorminate inflorescence of stalked

flowers, with the longer, lower

branches maturing flowers earlier than the short upper

branches.

papilionaceous. Butterfly&&e; used

to describe the irregular corolla

in some members of Leguminosae.

139
papillose, papillate. Beset with plumose. Having fine,, elongate

tiny, :pimple-like protuberances, hairs in a single plane, on either

or papillae. side of a central axis; featherlike.

pappus. A .ring of plumose or capil1ar-y bristles, scales, spines, or

pod. A dehiscent dry fruit; see legume.

teeth at the tip of the achene in polygamodioecious. Polygamous,

~Compositae. - but predominantly dio&~ous,

,polygamous. Hearing unisexual

and perfect flowers on the same

plant.

pedlcel. The stalk -of -an individual

flower or fruit in .a compound

inflorescence or of a spikelet in

grasses and grasslike pkmts.

peduncle. A flower .sta.lk supporting either a cluster of flowers or

a singleflowered inflorescence.

perennial. Producing above-ground

parts from the same root ssystem

for at least three growing sea-

@zaps Having functional &amens and pistihs) in the same

flower.

perianth. Collectively, the calyx

and corolla.

per+gynium. A flask-shaped sac

enveloping the achene in Curex.

petal. One of the inner whorl of

flower blades; a unit of the corolla.

petaloid. Resembling a petal.

petiole. The staIk by which a leaf,

either simple or compound, is

attached to the stem.

phyllary. A bract subtending the

flower head in Compositae.

pilose. Covered with soft, straight,

fine hair.

pinna. A main or primary division

of a pinnately compound leaf.

pinnate. A featherlike arrangement; branches, leaflets, lobes,

or veins arranged in one plane on

two sides of a central axil. evenpinnate: with no single terminal

leaflet. odd-pinnate: with a terminal leaflet.

pinnatifid. Pinnately lobed with

clefts more than halfway to midrib.

pinnule. The secondary division of

a bipinnate or tripinnate leaf or

frond.

pistil. The seed-bearing organ of a

flower, composed of stigma,

style (when present), and ovary.

pistillate. Having functional pistil(s), but no functional stamens;

female.

140

puberulent. Minutely pubescent.

pubescence. Short, soft hairspubescent: wi5h pubescence.

punctate. D&ted w&h depressions,

glands, or small colored spots.

raceme. A &mpl~ elongate, Grdeterminate inflorescenoe, with

stalked flowers.

rachilla. The axis of the q&k&&, in

grasses and sedges.

rabbis. The axis of an inor a pinnately compound leaf;

the main axis of a fern frondradiate. Arranged around a cornman center; also said of flower

heads in Compositae with ray

flowers surrounding a central

disk of tubular flowers.

ranked. Arranged in rows.

ray flower. A marginal flower with

straplike corolla, in the head of

most Compositae.

receptacle. The enlarged or expanded axis which bears either

the organs of a flower or the collected flowers of a head.

reflexed. Angled downward.

regular flower. A flower with ah

members of each whorl similar

in shape and size.

reniform. Kidney shaped.

reticulate. Net-veined.

retrorse. Pointed backward or

downward.

revolute. With margins rolled

under.

rhizome. An underground stem,

distinguishable from a root by

its nodes, buds, and scalelike

leaves.

rootstock. A rhizome or underground stem.

rosette. A cluster of leaves radiating from a very short stem and

growing close to the ground.

rotund. Round in outline.

rugose. Wrinkled.

sagittate. Shaped like an arrowhead, the basal lobes point&

downward or backward.

scabrous. sough to the touch. scabridulous: slightly rough.

scale. 4I general term applied to a

variety ,of small, usually dry,

leaf&e structures or bracts.

scope. A leafless flower stalk erisingfrom an underground part.

sca15~ue. Thin, dry, membranous;

not green.

secund ArGng, .or apparently or-isiqg, from one side of an axis.

seed. .A l-ipled-#lwl&L

sepal. $3~ of the ou%er whorl .of a

fiow g9f?&inth; a mait of i&e

-b=

:SoXbsetaceous. Bristldike; bristle

shaped.

setose. Having brist&.

sheath. The lower. tubular, stemclasping part of leaves, especially in grasses, sedges, and

rushes.

sinuous. Wavy.

sorus; pl. sari. A cluster of sporangia in nonflowering plants.

spathe. The sheathing bract of an

inflorescence.

spatulate. Broad and rounded at

the apex, with a short, narrowed

base.

spike. A simple, elongated, indeterminate inflorescence with sessile

flowers.

spikelet. The basic unit of the grass

and sedge inflorescence, consisting of one or more florets and a

pair of subtending glumes.

sporangium; pl. sporangia. The

spore case of nonflowering

plants.

squarrose. With spreading or

recurved bracts or scales.

stamen. The pollen-bearing organ

of a flower.

staminate. Having stamens and no

functional pistil: male.

standard. The upper petal in pea

and pea-like flowers of family

Leguminosae.
stellate. Star-like, with radiating

branches.

stigma. The pollen-receiving tip of

a pistil.

stipe. The stalk of a pistil; the

petiole of a fern frond.

stipel. A minute stipule at the base

of leaflets of compound leaves in

some plants.

stipule. One of a pair of usually foliaceous appendages found at the

base of leaf petioles in many

plants.

stolon. A horizontal, above-ground

branch or runner that roots at

nodes.

striate. Having fine longitudinal

lines, ridges, or channels.

strigose. With sharp, stiff,

straight, appressed hairs which

are often basally swollen.

style. The portion of the pistil

between the ovary and the

stigma.

sub-, Prefix generally meaning “almost” or “about.”

subulate. Awl shaped, tapering to

apex.

symmetrical. Said of a regular

flower having an equal number

of petals, sepals, and stamens.

terete. Round in cross section.

throat. The junction of the tube

and the expanded part of a

united corolla; also the ,opening

in a tubular corolla.

tiller. A shoot growing from the

root or base of a stem. Also used

as the verb.

tomentose. Densely woolly-pubescent.

tomentulose. Coated with a fine

mat of woolly pubescence; finely

tomentose.

trichome. Any hairlike outgrowth

of the epidermis.

trifid. Split into three.

trifoliolate. Leaves with three leaflets.

trigonous. Three sided: triangular

in cross section.

tripinnate. Thrice pinnate.

truncate. With the base or apex

transversely straight, appearing

cut off.

tuber. A short thickened, usually

underground stem or shoot,

with numerous buds (“eyes”) in

the axils of minute, scalelike

leaves.

tubercle. A small tuberlike body or

nodule.

turbinate. Inversely .con.ical; top

.tdUlpXi.

umbel. A more or less f&topped

indeterminate inflorescence,

with pedicels and peduncles arising from a common point.

undulate. Wavy margined or with

a wavy surface.

unisexual. Of one sex either staminate-or pistillate.

vermcose. Warty.

verticillate. A whorled, or apparently whorled, arrangement of

leaves, inflorescence branches,

flowers, etc.

vesture. A term applied to all types

of hairiness or coatings on plant

surf aces.

villous. Bearing long, soft hairs.

vitreous. Transparent: glasslike.

viscid. Sticky.

whorl. A ring of similar parts

around a point, as leaves around

a node.

wing. One of a pair of lateral petals

on a papilionaceous flower.

zygomorphic. Capable of being

bisected by only one plane into

equal and similar halves; bilaterally symmetrical (see actinomorphic).

141
INDEX OF PLANT NAMES

Page numbers in bold type indicate plant names in titles of descriptions

acacia 84

Acalypha

gracilens 119

ostryifolia 119

uirginica 119

Acanthaceae (acanthus family) 132

Agalinis

purpurea 120

tenuifolia 120

Agera tina al tissima 99

Albizia julibrissin 84

Alisma spp. 112

Ambrosia

artemisiifolia 91

bidentata 91

psilostachya 91

trifida 91

Amphicarpum

muhlenbergianum 37

purshii 37

Andropogon 2

capillipes 3

elliottii 4

gem&i 5

glaucopsis 3

glomemtus 6

kmgiberbis 7

scoparius 11

s tokmifer 12

subtenuis 4,8

tener 13

temarius 9

tmcyi 7

virginicus 3,10

var. abbreviatus 6

var. glaucopsis 3,10

var. glaucus 3

Antennaria 10 2

plantaginifolia 92

Anthaenan tia

rufa 38

villosa 36

Apheiiandm squarmsa 132

Amchis hypogaea 37

Aristida

dichotoma 40

longespica 40

oligantha 40

purpumscens 39

spiciformis 46

stricta 41

142

Arundinatia gigantea 42

ssp. gigantea 42

ssp. macrosperma 42

ssp. tecta 42

Asclepias

humistrata 121

lanceolata 121

latifolia 121

obouata 121

tuberosa 121

variegata 121

viridis 121

Aster 93

concolor 93

dumosus 93

patens 93

aster 90,93,98

skydrop 93

silver 93

bushy 93

Asteraceae 90

Axonopus

affinis 43

compressus 43

furcatus 43

Baccharis 90

bahiagrass 30

bamboo 2

Bap tisia

bmcteata var. laevicaulis 74

lactea 74

lanceolata 74

leucantha 74

nuttalliana 1, 74

sphaerocarpa 74

tinctoria 74

beakrush

big 66

cluster 66

common 66

horned 66

nodding 66

pinehill 66

bean 73

amberique 85

beardgrasses 2

beggarlice 79

Bigelowia

nudata 94

nuttallii 94

uirgata 94

black-eyed-Susan 112

blazing-stars 109

blue-eyed-grass 72

bluestem2,14, 22, 36,44,66

big 2,531, 51, 55

broomsedge 3,7,6,10

bushy 2,6,10

chalky 3,10

creeping 2,11, 12

Elliott 4,8,10,38

fineleaf 2,4,8, 10

hairy 7,lO

little 1,2,5,9,11, 12

eastern 11

paintbrush 9,38

pinehill 2,11

silver 2

slender 2,8,13

south Florida 12

splitbeard 9

bluet, prairie 130

boneset 99,100

Bothriochloa saccharoides 2

bracken, southern 118,129

bristlegrass

knotroot 54

yellow 54

broomsedge 3,6,7,10

chalky 3,10

Bulbostylis capillatis 64

bullnettle 122,134

risky 122

Texas 122

butterflypea 76,77

button-snakeroot 125

buttonweed

rough 124,127

Virginia 124

camphorweed 106

cane 42

giant42

switch 42

Care%

complanata 61

fmnkii 61

glaucescens 6 1

lurida 62

carpetgrass

big 43

common 43

tropical 43

Carphephorus odomtissimus 116
carrot 125

CUSSit

aspem 75

deeringiana 75

fasciculata 75

var. bmchiata 75

nictitans 75

catfoot 102

catgut 89

celsry 125

centipedegraas 43

Centmsema virginianurn 76,77

Chosmanthium

htifolium 44

kxum 44

sessiliflorum 44

chigger-weed 121

Chondmphom nudata 94

chondrophora, naked 94

Chmmokena ivifolia 99

chrysanthemum 90

Chrysopsis gmmini~olia 106

cicutu macuktcr 125

claviceps paspali 30

Clitoris mariana 76.77

clover 73

Japanese 81

cnidoswlus

stimulosus 122

texanus 122

Coelomchis 45

cylindrica 45

rugosa 45

tessellata 45

compassplant 113

Compositae (composite family) 73.90

composites 73,96,93

wneflower 90,112

plantainleaf 112

rough 112

Conium macuhtum 125

Conoclinium cocks tinum 99

Conyzu canadensis

var. canadensis 98

var. pusilla 97

wnyza, horsetail 97

copperleaf

hophombean 119

slender 119

Virginia 119

Coreopsis

gkdiata 95

lanceokta 95

mqjor 95

tripteris 95

wreopsis, thickleaf

crabgrass 27,33,34,54

hairy46

shaggy 48

slender 48

southern 48

violet 48

Crotalaria

brevidens 78

inter-media 78

purshii 78

sagittalis 78

spectabilis 78

crotalaria

arrow 78

showy 78

slenderleaf 78

Croton

argymnthemus 123

capitatus

var. cagitatus 123

var. lindheimeti 123

gkndulosus var. septentrionalis

123

monan thogynus 123

CrOtOU

northern 123

onesesd 123

silver 123

woolly 123

Ctenium

aroma&urn 46

florid&urn 46

cudweed 92

fragrant 102

purple 102

Cyperaceae (sedge family) 2.60,

73

Cyperus vinms 63

daisy 90

da&grass 30

dandelion 90

Danthonia

compressa 47

sericea 47 /

spicata 47

danthonia

downy 47

flatstem 47

poverty 47

deem-tongue 116

Desmodium 77,79,81

c&are 79

laevigatum 79

lineatum 79

marilandicum 79

panicuktum 79

rigidum 79

rvtudifohm 79

viddifolium 79

devils-shoestring 89

Dichanthelium 14

aciculare 15

acuminatum 16

var. acuminatum 16

var. lindheimeri 16,17

boscii 19

commutatum 19

dichotomum 18

var. ensifolium 10

var. glabrifolium 18

ktifolium 19

leucobkpharis

var. glabrescens 20

var. kucobkphatis 20

sabulorum var. patulum 21

scopatium 19

sphaetocarpon

iwr. sphaervcarpon 22

var. isophyllum 22

Digitaria 27,33,54

adscendens 48

ciliaris 48

filiformis 48

ischaemum var. violascens 48

sanguinalis 46

var. ciliaris 48

villosa 48

violascens 48

Diodia

teres 124

virginiana 124

dogfennel 98,99,166

dropseed 26

Curtis5 56

Florida 56

pineywoods 53,58

Drvsem 118

Echinacea pallida 112

echinacea, pale 112

Ekocharis

micmcaqm 64

tubemulosa 64

elephantfoot

hairy96

leafy 96

Ekphantopus

carolinianus 96

ektus 96

nudatus 96

tomentosus 96

Elymus

canadensis 49

interruptus 49

villosus 49

virginicus49

Emgrostis 59

euiottii 50

refiacto 50

spectabilis 50

143
Eremochloa ophiumides 43

Erianthus

alopecuroides 51

contortus 51

giganteus 51

strktus 51

Erigemn; see tiso Conyza

canadensis 9 8

phikdelphicus 97

pulchellus 97

pusillus 97

strigosus

var. beyrichii 97

var. strigosus 97

tenuis 97

Eryngium

integrifolium 125

prostratum 125

yuccifolium 125

eryngo

creeping 125

simpleleaf 1’25

Eupanicum 14

Eupatotium 98

album 98,99,1’00

ca@lifolium 98, 99,100

coekstinum 99

compositifolium 99,100

glaucescens 100

hyssopifolium 98,99,100

ivifolium 99

kucolepis 99,100

perfoliatum 99,100

p&sum 101

pubescens 101

rotundifolium93,‘99,10 1

var.ov&u?il'Oa'

var. mtundifolium 101

var. saundersii 101

rugosum 99

semiserratum 99,100

serotinum 99,100

eupatorium 98

hoar-scale 99,100

hyssopleaf 98,99,100

ivyleaf 99

late 99,100

roundleaf 98,99,101

smallflower 99,106

white 98,99,1W

Euphorbia 126

corollata 126

zinniiflom 126

fleabane

daisy 97

prairie 97

Fuirena

scirpoidea 65

squarrosa 65

Gaillardia aestivalis 95

gaiilardia, lanceleaf 95

Galuctia

elliottii 80

erecta 80

macreei 80

reguhwis 80

volubilis 80

Gamochaetapurpurea 102

gayfeather 90,109

Florida 109, 110

Kansas 109,110,111

pinkscale 109, 110

shortleaf 109, 110

slender 109, 110

spike 109, 111

Gemrdiapurpurea 120

gerardia

purple 120

perennial 120

Gnaphalium 92

helkri 102

obtusifolium 102

purpureum 102

goatsrue 89

goldaster

grassleaf 166

Maryland 106

soft 106

goldenrod 90,98

fragrant 115

rayless 94

rough 115

shiny 114

slimhead 114

tall 115

wrinkled 115

goobergrass 37

Graminales 60

Gramineae (grass family) 2,60, ‘73

grasslike plants 60

Gymnopogon

am biguus 52

brevifolius 52

hairsedge 64

hawkweed 167

Heknium

Euphorbiaceae (spurge family) 119, amarum 103

122,123,126,133,134 autumnale 103

Euthamia leptocephala 1 I4 fkxuosum 103

false-indigo 74 nudifhwum 103

flatsedge, green 63 a Helianthus 102

angus tifolius 104

floridanus 104

hirsutus 105

Helminthosporium ravenelii 57

He ten, theta

gmminifolia 106

mariana 106

piksa 106

subaxillaris 106

Hiemcium gronovii 107

horseweed 97

Houstonia nigricans 130

hurrahgrass 33,35

Hymenopappus

artemisiifolius 103

scabiosaeus 108

indiangrass 5

lopside 55

slender 55

yellow 28,51,55

indian-tobacco 92

itchgrass 45

ironweed

pinebarrens 117

Texas 104,117

jointtail 45

Carolina 45

lattice 45

wrinkled 45

Juncaceae (rush family) 2,60,73

Juncus

biflorus 68

bmchycarpus 70

coriaceus 69

dichotomus71

effusus var. solutus 69

marginatus 68

polycephalus 72

scirpoides 70

tenuis 71

validus 72

junegrass 47

Labiatae (mint family)‘l30,135

ladies-tobacco 92

legumes 73

Leguminosae (legume family) 73

Lespedeza 79

bicokr 81

hirta 81

repens 8 1

striata 81

virginica 8 1

lespedeza 79,86

bicolor 8 1

common 81

creeping 8 1

hairy81

slender 8 1
Liatris 109

acidota 110

elegans110

garberi 110

pycnostachya 111

qpicata

var. resinosa 111

var. spicata 111

tenuifolia 110

lovegrass 59

c:oastal50

Elliott 50

purple 50

maidencane 14,24

blue 37

Manisuris 45

cylindrica 45

exaltata 45

meadowbeauty

common 131

Maryland 131

yellow 13 1

Medicago spp. 73

Melastomataceae (melastoma

hIlily) 131

Melilotus spp. 73

mercury, three-seeded 119

miipea

(downy 80

erect 80

ishapely 80

milkweed

broadleaf 12 1

butterfly 118,121

green 121

red 121

sandhill 121

spider 121

white 121

mimosa 84

mist-flower 99

Mitchella repens 127

mountainmint

cluster 130

narrowleaf 130

slender 130

whiteleaf 130

Muhlenbergia

capillaris 53

expansa 53

muhly

cutover 41,46,53,58

hairawn 53

nosebum

heartleaf 134

nettleleaf 134

Small 134

wavyleaf 134

oatgrass, poverty 47

old-field-balsam 102

paille-fine 24

Panicum 14

aciculare I5

anceps 23

var. anceps 23

var. rhizomatum 2 3

angus tifolium 15

brachyanthum 27

chamaelonche 18

ciliatum 20

glabrifolium 18

hemitomon 24

hians 29

kzncearium 21

lanuginosum 16

Zatifolium 19

lindheimeri I7

polycaulon 20

repens 25

sphaerocarpon 22

tenerum 26

verrucosum 27

virgatum 29

panicurn 14,36

beaked 14,23,28

bluejoint 26

delicate 18

gaping 23,29

lance 21

Lindheimer 16,17

‘little 20

“low” 14,15,17,18,19,20,21,

22

narrowleaf 15

needleleaf 15

pimple 27

roundseed 22

spreading 23,28

“true” 14,23,25, 26, 27, 28,29

variable 19

velvet 19

warty 27

wideleaf19

woolly 16

parsnip 125

partridgeberry 127

partridgepea 89

sensitive 75

showy 75

Paspalum 30, 3 6

ciliatifolium 33

dilatatum 30

floridanum 31

var. fIori&num 3 1

var. glabratum 31

longepedunculatum 34

notatum 30

plicatulum 32

pubescens 35

setaceum 33, 35

var. ciliatifolium 33

var. kmgepedunculatum 94

var. muhlenbergii 35

urvillei 30

paspalum 30

barestem 33,34,35

brownseed 32

Florida 5,31

fringeleaf 33,34,35

peanut 37,73

peas 73

pen&lower 86

Phlox 135

phlox 135

Phy tolacca

americana 128

rigidu 128

pigeonwings, Atlantic 76,77

pitcher-plant 46

pleurisy-root 12 1

plumegrass

bent-awn 51

giant 51

narrow 51

silver 6 1

Polypodiaceae (fern family) 129

poison-hemlock 125

pokeweed 118,128

poor-joe 124

povertygrass 47

Pteridium aquilinum var.

pseudocaudatum 12 9

purpletop 59

pussytoes 102

plantainleaf 92

Pycnanthemum

albescens 130

flexuosum 130

muticum 130

tenuifolium 139

quesnsdelight 122,133

rabbit-tobacco 102

ragweed

common 91

giant 91

lanceleaf 91

western 91

rattleboxes 78

razorsedge

annual 67

fiingsd67

little 67

whip 67

145
Rhexia

alifanus 131

lutea131

mariana 131

petiokta 131

virg-inica 13 1

Rhynchosia

difformis 82

latifolia 82

minima 82

reniformis 83

tomentosa 82

rhynchosia

broadleaf 82

dollarleaf 83

erect 82

hairy 82

least 82

Rhynchospom

cephalantha 66

corniculata 66

fascicularis 66

globularis 66

gkmemta 66

inexpansa 66

richwwd 91

rosinweed

sand 113

slender 113

wholeleaf 113

Rottboellia exaltata 45

Rubiaceae (madder family) 127

Rudbeckia

gmndifkm

var. alismatifolia 112

var. gmndiflom 112

hirta 112

R&&Z

camliniensis 132

ciliosa 132

humilis 132

pedunculata 132

rush 60

common 69

flatleaf 72

hemp 71

leathery 69

nesdlepod 70,72

poverty 71

rice 69

roundhead 72

soft 69

twinflower 66

whiteroot 70

wiregrass 71

sagegrasses 2

St. Augustiriegrass 43

Sarmcenia’spp. 46

Schisachyrium 2

rhizomatum 12

scopatium 1,ll

var. divergens 11

stoloniferum 12

tenerum 13

Schmnkia

hystricina 84

nuttallii 84

micmphylla 84

uncinata 84

Sckria

ciliata 67

georgiana 67

re ticularis 67

triglomemta 67

Scrophuhuiaceae (figwort family)

120

seaoats 44

sedge 60

blue 61

Frank 61

lurid 62

southern 61

sensitivebrier

catclaw 84

littleleaf 84

Set&a

geniculata 54

glauca 64

lutescens 54

silktree 84

silky scale

green%

purple 38

Silphium

asteriscus 113

compositum ssp. ovatifolium 113

gmcik 113

intergrifolium 113

la&datum 113

.Sisyrinchium 72

skeletongrass

bearded52

slim52

smutgrass, rat-tail 57

snakeroot, white 98,99,100

sneezeweed

bitter 90,193

common 103

purplehead 103

snoutbean, hairy 82

Solidago

altissima 115

canadensis var. scabm 115

kptocephak 114

nitida 114

odom 115

mdukz 116

rugosa 115

Sorghastrum

avenaceum 55

elliottii 55

nutans 55

secundum 55

Sphenopholis filiformis 29

spikegrass 44

spikesedge

annual 64

conecap 64

Sporvbolus 26

curtissii 56

indicus 57

floridanus 56

junceus 58

poirettii 67

spurge, flowering 122,126

Steinchisma hians 26

Stenotaphrum secundatum 43

sticktights 79

Stilling&z

sylvatica 133

treculiana 133

Stmphostyks

helvola 85

kiosperma 85

umbelkta 35

Styksanthes biflom 86

sundew 118

sunflower 90,102

hairy195 .

swamp 104,106,117

swallow-wort 121 .

sweet43ver1asting 102

switchgrass 5,14,25,28,56

Tephmsia

onobrychoides 87

spicata 88

var. semitonsa 88

virginiana 89

tephrosia

brownhair 87,88,89

Virginia89

weak 07,88,89

Terre&grass 49

threeawn

arrowfeather 39,40

bottlebrush 49

churchmouse 40

oklfield 40

pineland 12,20,40,41,56

slimspike 40

tickclover 77,79, 80, 81,86

littleleaf 79

Maryland79

panicled 79

rigid 79

roundleaf 79

sand 79

146
smooth 79

velvetleaf 79

tickseed 95

ticktrefoils 79

toothachegrass 46

toqpedograss 25

Tmgia

cord&a 134

s,mallii 134

w-ens 134

urticifolia 134

tre,adsoftly 122

Tkidens

ambiguus 59

carolinianus 59

fikuJus 59

strictus 59

tridens

Carolina 59

kmgspike 59

pinebarren 59

purpletop 59

Trifolium spp. 73

Tnilisa

odoratissima 116

paniculuta 116

trilisa

hairy 116

vanilla 116

tumbleweed 50,52

turkey-foot 5

Umbelliferae (parsley family) 125

umbrella-grass

common 65

hairy 65

umbrella-sedge 65

Uniola

panicdata 44

sessiliflom 44

uniola

broadleaf 44

longleaf 44

spike 44

vaseygrass 30

Verbena

bmsiliensis 135

canadensis 135

haki 135

hybrida 135

tenuisecta 135

verbena

garden 135

moss 135

rose 135

slender 135

Verbenaceae (verbena family) 135

Vernonia

angus tifolia 117

texana 117

vermin 135

water-hemlock 125

water-plantain 112

wedgescale, longleaf 29

wildbean

perennial 65

slickseed 65

trailing 85

wildindigo

Atlantic 74

Nuttall 1,73,74

pineland 74

round 74

whitestem 74

yellow 74

wild-petunia 132

wildrye

Canada 49

hairy 49

Texas 49

Virginia 49

wiregrass 12,13,41

flatleaf 56

WOOllyWhite

flattop 108

ragweed 166

yankeewe43d99,160

yellowhead 94

yucca 125

zebra-plant 132

zinna90

Grelen, Harold E.; Hughes, Ralph H. Common herbaceous

plants of southern forest range. Res. Pap. SO-210 New

Orleans, LA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station; 1984.147 p.

Illustrations and descriptions are given for approximately

125 species of grasses, grasslikes (sedges and rushes), and

forbs representative of the pine and pine-hardwood forests

of the southeastern United States.

Keywords: range, wildlife, forage value.