Plants annual or perennial; perennials usually cespitose, sometimes shortly rhizomatous. Culms 2-300 cm, erect or decumbent, not succulent, sometimes almost woody at the base, often branching from the lower nodes. Sheaths not compressed. Panicles usually lax and diffuse; pedicels divergent. Spikelets ellipsoid to lanceoloid, glabrous. Lower glumes (1/3)1/2 - 3/4 as long as the spikelets, (3)5-7-veined, truncate, obtuse, acute, or acuminate; lower paleas present or absent.

Discussion

Panicum sect. Panicum includes approximately 22 species and extends from the southern United States to Argentina. Most species grow in dry, open places, but a few grow in moist sites such as river banks.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

Panicum bergii, Panicum capillare, Panicum capillarioides, Panicum diffusum, Panicum flexile, Panicum ghiesbreghtii, Panicum hallii, Panicum hirsutum, Panicum hirticaule, Panicum miliaceum, Panicum mohavense, Panicum philadelphicum, Panicum psilopodium