Scientific Family
Poaceae
Synonyms
Dinebra panicea, Leptochloa attenuata, Leptochloa filiformis
Other common names
needle sprangletop
Plant type
Grasses
Riparian
Yes
Grass Description
Origin
Native
Season
Warm
Found in moist habitats of wetlands, swamps and open lowland soils; also considered an agricultural weed.
Plant Community
Riparian
Disturbed Areas
Low elevation
1000
High elevation
5000
General Description
Seedhead stems can be 5 inches to 5 feet tall and are usually erect, compressed and branching with hollow internodes.
Annuals; sheaths sparsely to densely hairy; spikelets less than 1/8 inch long and 3 to 4-flowered; ligules less than 1/4 inch long, blunt, uneven, torn and hairy; seedhead branched, branches with short stemmed spikelets.
Grass type
Annual
Rhizomes
No
Stolons
No
Clump Diameter 2 ft or more
No
Bushy - highly branched
Yes
Height with Seedheads
Greater than 36 inches
Seedhead Structure
Branched - open and spreading
Seedhead droops
No
First bloom month
May
Last bloom month
September
Flower Characteristics
Flowers per Spikelet
Multi-flowered
Spikelets One-Sided
No
Awns
Absent
Three Awns
No
Awns bent
No
Flower and Seedhead Notes
Seedheads are 3 to 12 inches long with 3 to 100 ascending to spreading branches, each branch with 2 rows of appressed small multi-flowered spikelets. Glumes linear to narrowly lanceolate, exceeding the florets; lemmas < 1/16 inch.
Vegetative Characteristics
Blade is hairy
Yes
Blade margins white
No
Blade cross-section
Flat
Blades are 2 to 10 inches long, up to 3/4 inch wide and smooth or sparsely hairy.
Sheath is hairy
Yes
Tufts of hair top of sheath or collar
Yes
Ligule
Membranous
Auricles
No
Forage is fair to good for livestock and wildlife in early growth stages.