Panicum capillare

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Panicum capillare
Panicum capillare NPS-1.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Panicoideae
Genus: Panicum
Species:
P. capillare
Binomial name
Panicum capillare
L.
Synonyms

Panicum barbipulvinatum

Panicum capillare, known by the common name witchgrass, [1] is a species of grass. It is a native plant to most of North America from the East Coast through all of the West Coast and California. It can be found as an introduced species in Eurasia, and as a weed in gardens and landscaped areas. [2] It grows in many types of habitat.

Contents

Description

Panicum capillare is an annual bunchgrass growing decumbent or erect to heights exceeding one meter (3 feet). It is green to blue- or purple-tinged in color. In texture it is quite hairy, especially on the leaves and at the nodes. The ligule is a fringe of long hairs.

The inflorescence is a large open panicle which may be over half the total length of the plant, up to half a meter long. At maturity it fans out, spreading to a width over 20 centimeters. As the plant dies and dries, the panicle may break off whole and becomes a tumbleweed. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Panicum</i> Genus of grasses

Panicum (panicgrass) is a large genus of about 450 species of Poaceae grasses native throughout the tropical regions of the world, with a few species extending into the northern temperate zone. They are often large, annual or perennial grasses, growing to 1–3 m (3–10 ft) tall.

<i>Polypogon monspeliensis</i> Species of grass

Polypogon monspeliensis, commonly known as annual beard-grass or annual rabbitsfoot grass, is a species of grass. It is native to the Old World, but it can be found today throughout the world as an introduced species and sometimes a noxious weed. It is an annual grass growing to heights between 5 centimeters and one meter. The soft, fluffy inflorescence is a dense, greenish, plumelike panicle, sometimes divided into lobes. The spikelets have long, thin, whitish awns, which give the inflorescence its texture.

<i>Panicum dichotomiflorum</i> Species of grass

Panicum dichotomiflorum, known by the common names fall panicgrass, autumn millet, and fall panicum is a species of Poaceae "true grass". It is native to much of the eastern United States and parts of Canada, and it can be found in the Western United States through California. It may be an introduced species in some western climates. It grows in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas and chaparral habitats.

<i>Panicum hirticaule</i> Species of flowering plant

Panicum hirticaule is a species of grass known by the common names Mexican panicgrass and roughstalked witchgrass. It is also known as the Sonoran millet, and is cultivated as a cereal crop in the American Southwest.

<i>Panicum urvilleanum</i> Species of flowering plant

Panicum urvilleanum is a species of grass known by the common names desert panicgrass and silky panicgrass. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in sandy habitat, including the dunes of the deserts. It is also known in parts of South America.

<i>Tripidium ravennae</i> Species of grass

Tripidium ravennae, synonym Saccharum ravennae, with the common names ravennagrass and elephant grass, is a species of grass in the genus Tripidium. It is native to Southern Europe, Western Asia and South Asia. It is known in North America as an introduced species, where it is sometimes an invasive and troublesome noxious weed.

<i>Setaria pumila</i> Species of grass

Setaria pumila is a species of grass known by many common names, including yellow foxtail, yellow bristle-grass, pigeon grass, and cattail grass. It is native to Europe, but it is known throughout the world as a common weed. It grows in lawns, sidewalks, roadsides, cultivated fields, and many other places. This annual grass grows 20 centimetres to well over 1 metre in height, its mostly hairless stems ranging from green to purple-tinged in color. The leaf blades are hairless on the upper surfaces, twisting, and up to 30 centimetres long. The inflorescence is a stiff, cylindrical bundle of spikelets 2 to 15 centimetres long with short, blunt bristles. The panicle may appear yellow or yellow-tinged.

<i>Setaria verticillata</i> Species of grass

Setaria verticillata is a species of grass known by the common names hooked bristlegrass, rough bristle-grass and bristly foxtail. It is native to Europe, but it is known on most continents as an introduced species and often a noxious weed. It is a hardy bunchgrass which grows in many types of urban, cultivated, and disturbed habitat. It is a weed of many types of agricultural crops, growing in vineyards and fields. Herbicide-resistant strains have been noted.

<i>Sphenopholis obtusata</i> Species of grass

Sphenopholis obtusata is a species of grass known by the common names prairie wedgescale and prairie wedge grass. It is native to North America where it is widespread across southern Canada and the United States. It occurs in many types of habitat, including prairie, marshes, dunes, and disturbed areas.

<i>Ventenata dubia</i> Species of grass

Ventenata dubia is a species of grass known by the common names North Africa grass and wiregrass. It is native to southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. It is becoming well known in North America, where it is an introduced species and a noxious weed of cultivated and disturbed habitat. It is problematic in the Pacific Northwest, where it was first identified in Washington in 1952 and Idaho in 1957. It was found in Utah in 1996. It probably spreads when it gets mixed in with grass seed and is transported and inadvertently planted.

<i>Panicum hemitomon</i> Species of grass

Panicum hemitomon is a species of grass known by the common name maidencane. It is native to North America, where it occurs along the southeastern coastline from New Jersey to Texas. It is also present in South America.

<i>Panicum repens</i> Species of plant

Panicum repens is a species of grass known by many common names, including torpedo grass, creeping panic, panic rampant, couch panicum, wainaku grass, quack grass, dog-tooth grass, and bullet grass. Its exact native range is obscure. Sources suggest that the grass is native to "Africa and/or Asia", "Europe or Australia", "Eurasia", "Australia", "Europe, Asia, and Africa", or other specific regions, including the Mediterranean, Israel, and Argentina. It is present in many places as an introduced species and often a noxious weed. It has been called "one of the world's worst weeds."

<i>Dichanthelium scoparium</i> Species of plant

Dichanthelium scoparium is a species of grass known by the common names velvet panicum, velvety panicgrass, and broom panicgrass. It is native to North America, where it occurs in the southeastern United States. It also occurs in the West Indies.

<i>Digitaria cognata</i> Species of flowering plant

Digitaria cognata is a species of grass known by the common names fall witchgrass, Carolina crabgrass, and mountain hairgrass.

<i>Panicum amarum</i> Species of flowering plant

Panicum amarum is a species of grass known by the common name bitter panicum. It is native to North America, where it is found in coastal regions along the East Coast and Gulf Coast of the United States and into northeastern Mexico. It also occurs in The Bahamas and in Cuba.

<i>Panicum anceps</i> Species of flowering plant

Panicum anceps is a species of grass known by the common name beaked panicgrass. It is native to the southeastern United States, where it occurs as far north as New Jersey and as far west as Kansas and Texas.

<i>Panicum coloratum</i> Species of grass

Panicum coloratum is a species of grass known by the common names kleingrass, blue panicgrass (USA), white buffalograss ; Bambatsi panic, makarikari grass, and coolah grass (Australia). It is native to Africa, and it has been introduced elsewhere, such as the United States and Australia, and bred into many cultivars.

<i>Paspalum setaceum</i> Species of plant

Paspalum setaceum is a species of grass known by several common names, including thin paspalum. It is native to the Americas, where it can be found in the eastern and central United States, Ontario in Canada, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. It can be found in other areas of the world as an introduced, and often invasive, species, including many Pacific Islands. It is a weed of lawns and turf.

<i>Sporobolus spartinae</i> Species of plant

Sporobolus spartinae is a species of grass known by the common names gulf cordgrass and sacahuista. It is native to the Americas, where it occurs from the Gulf Coast of the United States south to Argentina.

<i>Panicum hillmanii</i> Species of plant

Panicum hillmanii, commonly known as Hillmann's panicgrass, is a grass from genus Panicum native to Southwestern United States. It has been introduced to many other areas, notably including southern Australia where it became widespread, and several parts of Europe.

References

  1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Panicum capillare". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  2. Virginia Tech Weed Profile
  3. Grass Manual Treatment Archived June 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine