Contains 20 accepted taxa overall.
Characteristics
Sporobolus has recently been circumscribed (and conserved) to include Calamovilfa and Spartina (Peterson et al. 2014).
Classification
Citation
SPOROBOLUS R. Brown, Prodr. 169. 1810.
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TYPE: Sporobolus indicus (Linnaeus) R. Brown (Agrostis indica Linnaeus) Lectotypified by Nash, in Britton & A. Brown, Ill. Fl. N. U.S., ed. 2. 1: 194. 1913.
Species
| Scientific Name | Common Name | Herbarium Specimens | Status | Photos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sporobolus advenus | ||||
| Sporobolus airoides | Alkali Sacaton | |||
| Sporobolus clandestinus | Rough Dropseed | |||
| Sporobolus compositus var. compositus | Tall Dropseed | |||
| Sporobolus compositus var. drummondii | Drummond's dropseed | |||
| Sporobolus cryptandrus | Sand Dropseed | |||
| Sporobolus curtissii | Curtiss's Dropseed | |||
| Sporobolus domingensis | Coral Dropseed | |||
| Sporobolus fimbriatus | ||||
| Sporobolus flexuosus | Mesa Dropseed | |||
| Sporobolus floridanus | Florida Dropseed | |||
| Sporobolus indicus | Smut Grass, Blackseed | |||
| Sporobolus jacquemontii | West Indian Dropseed | |||
| Sporobolus junceus | Sandhills Dropseed | |||
| Sporobolus pinetorum | Carolina Dropseed, Savanna Dropseed | |||
| Sporobolus tenuissimus | Tropical Dropseed | |||
| Sporobolus teretifolius | Wireleaf Dropseed | |||
| Sporobolus vaginiflorus | Poverty Dropseed | |||
| Sporobolus virginicus | Seashore Dropseed, Coastal Dropseed | |||
| Sporobolus wrightii | Giant Sacaton |
Identification Key
1. Calluses (just below lemma) hairy, the hairs 1/4 - 7/8 as long as the lemmas; paleas hairy; fruits falling with the lemma and palea
1. Calluses glabrous to glabrate; paleas glabrous; fruits falling free of the lemma and palea
2
2. Lemma strigose or scabridulous
3
2. Lemma glabrous
4
3. Perennial; panicle 5-11 cm long; spikelets 4-9(10) mm long
3. Annual; panicle 1-5 cm long; spikelets 2.3-6 mm long
4. Spikelets (3.5)4-6.6 mm long
5
4. Spikelets 0.7-3.8 mm long
7
5. Culms (including the inflorescence) 30-70 cm tall; leaf blades 0.5-1.5(2) mm wide, 15-40(50) cm long, margins often smooth, blade base upper side densely pubescent; inflorescence branches stiffly ascending; pedicels 1-3(10) mm long, strongly appressed; lower glume (0.8)0.95-1.1(1.3) times as long as the upper glume
5. Culms (including the inflorescence) (30)70-160(220) cm tall; leaf blades 1.2-10 mm wide, (30)40-80 cm long, margins scabridulous, blade base upper side glabrate to sparsely pilose; inflorescence branches initially ascending, later loosely ascending to spreading; pedicels (2)4-15 mm long, ascending to spreading; lower glume 0.5-0.95 times as long as the upper glume
6
6. Leaf blades (2)3-10 mm wide, mostly pale bluish-green (sometimes some yellowish), mostly widely spreading to recumbent with age; lower glume (0.6)0.75-0.95 times as long as the upper glume
6. Leaf blades 1.2-2.0(3.0) mm wide, dark green, mostly strictly ascending; lower glume (0.5)0.6-0.8 as long as the upper glume
7. Annual; inflorescence very diffuse, the spikelets widely dispersed at the tips of the branches; spikelets 0.7-1.1 mm long
7. Perennial, or annual in S. pyramidatus; inflorescence dense to open, usually at least the upper half of the branches with spikelets; spikelets 1.2-3.8 mm long
8
8. Upper glume 0.4-1.6 mm long, <2/3 as long as the floret and not exceeding the lemmas
9
8. Upper glume 1.1-3.2 mm long, >2/3 as long as the floret and reaching the lemma tip or exceeding the lemmas
11
9. Spikelets 2-2.7 mm long, the upper glumes usually 1/2 - 2/3 as long as the florets, acute to obtuse, entire
9. Spikelets 1.3-1.8(2) mm long, the upper glumes usually <1/2 as long as the florets, truncate, erose to denticulate
10
10. Inflorescence branches without spikelets on the lower ΒΌ; anthers 2(3), 0.5-0.8 mm long
10. Inflorescence branches spikelet-bearing to the base; anthers (2)3, 0.9-1.1 mm long
11. Spikelets 1.8-3.8 mm long; lower glume 0.9-2.5 mm long; upper glume 1.8-3.8 mm long; lemmas 2-3.6 mm long; paleas 2-3.6 mm long; anthers 1-2 mm long
12
11. Spikelets 1.2-2 mm long; lower glume 0.3-1.1 mm long; upper glume 1.1-2 mm long; lemmas 1.1-2 mm long; paleas 1-2 mm long; anthers 0.2-1 mm long
13
12. Cespitose; inflorescence usually open, the internodes plainly visible, lower half to quarter of primary branches usually lacking spikelets, proximal nodes with whorls or verticils of 4-6 spreading to ascending branches; spikelets purplish or reddish
12. Rhizomatous or stoloniferous; inflorescence dense, the internodes usually concealed, primary branches with spikelets throughout, proximal nodes with appressed branches; spikelets pale
13. Panicle 10-25(35) cm long, the primary branches eglandular and with spikelets throughout their length; anthers 0.5-1 mm long
13. Panicle 4-8(18) cm long, the primary branches with elongate glands and lacking spikelets on the lower half to quarter; anthers 0.2-0.4 mm long
Genus Synonyms
| Synonym | Full Citation | Basionym | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| No synonyms found. | |||