Microstegium

Plants annual or perennial; straggling. Culms to 100 cm, often decumbent. Leaves not aromatic; ligules membranous; blades narrowly-elliptic to lanceolate, often pseudopetiolate. Inflorescences terminal, subdigitate to racemose clusters of 1-few rames; rame internodes slender, without a translucent longitudinal groove; disarticulation in the rames beneath the sessile spikelets, and below the pedicellate spikelets. Spikelets in homogamous, homomorphic, sessile-pedicellate pairs, with 1 or 2 florets. Lower glumes herbaceous to cartilaginous, longitudinally grooved, margins inflexed, 4-6-veined, usually keeled; upper glumes 3-veined, mucronate or shortly awned; lower florets absent, or reduced and sterile; upper florets bisexual; upper lemmas usually awned; anthers (2)3. x = 10. Pedicels not fused to the rame axes.

Distribution

Conn., N.J., N.Y., D.C, W.Va., Fla., Puerto Rico, Tex., La., Tenn., N.C., S.C., Pa., Va., Del., Md., Ala., Ark., Ill., Ga., Ind., Mass., Ohio, Mo., Miss., Ky.

Discussion

Microstegium is a genus of approximately 15 species, most of which are native to southeastern Asia; one is established in the Flora region.

Selected References

Fairbrothers, D.E. and J.R. Gray. 1972. Microstegium vimineum (Trin.) A. Camus (Gramineae) in the United States. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 99:97-100

Hunt, D.M. and R.E. Zaremba. 1992. The northeastward spread of Microstegium vimineum (Poaceae) into New York and adjacent states. Rhodora 94:167-170

Mehrhoff, L.J. 2000. Perennial Microstegium vimineum (Poaceae): An apparent misidentification. J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 127:251-254.

Lower Taxa

Microstegium vimineum