| Sporobolus indicus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Smut grass, Sporobolus indicus, growing as a weed on Midway Atoll | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Genus: | Sporobolus |
| Species: | S. indicus |
| Binomial name | |
| Sporobolus indicus | |
Sporobolus indicus is a species of grass known by the common name smut grass. [1]
This bunchgrass is native to temperate and tropical areas of the Americas.
It can be found in more regions, as well as on many Pacific Islands, as an introduced species and a common weed of disturbed habitat. It is naturalized in Hawaii, Fiji, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Midway Atoll, and other areas. [2]
Sporobolus indicus is a perennial bunchgrass producing a tuft of stems up to about a meter (3 feet) tall. The hairless leaves are up to 50 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a dense, narrow, spikelike panicle of grayish or light brown spikelets, its base sometimes sheathed by the upper leaf.
The inflorescence and upper leaves are sometimes coated in black smut fungus of the genus Bipolaris , the reason for the common name smut grass. [3]
The 1889 book The Useful Native Plants of Australia records that common names included "Rat-tail Grass" "Chilian Grass" and that Indigenous People of the Cloncurry River area of Northern Australia called it "Jil-crow-a-berry". It also states that Sporobolus indicus is "A fine, open, pasture grass, found throughout the colonies. Its numerous penetrating roots enable it to resist severe drought. It yields a fair amount of fodder, much relished by stock, but is too coarse for sheep. The seeds form the principal food of many small birds. It has been suggested as a paper-making material." [4]
Sporobolus heterolepis, commonly known as prairie dropseed, is a species of prairie grass native to the tallgrass and mixed grass prairies of central North America from Texas to southern Canada. It is also found further east, to the Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada, but is much less common beyond the Great Plains and is restricted to specialized habitats. It is found in 27 states and four Canadian provinces.
Sporobolus is a nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family. The name Sporobolus means "seed-thrower", and is derived from Ancient Greek word σπόρος (spóros), meaning "seed", and the root of βάλλειν (bállein) "to throw", referring to the dispersion of seeds. Members of the genus are usually called dropseeds or sacaton grasses. They are typical prairie and savanna plants, occurring in other types of open habitat in warmer climates. At least one species is threatened with extinction, and another is extinct.
Danthonia intermedia is a species of grass known by the common names timber oatgrass, intermediate oatgrass, and mountain wild-oat grass. This clumping erect perennial grass is native to North America, where it is widespread across most of Canada and along the western United States into California. It is a plant of the plains as well as forested, mountainous, alpine environments.
Bothriochloa barbinodis is a species of grass known by the common name cane bluestem. It is native to the Americas, including most of South and Central America, Mexico, and the southernmost continental United States from California to Florida.
Bromus carinatus is a species of brome grass known by the common names California brome and mountain brome.
Panicum capillare, known by the common name witchgrass, 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. It grows in many types of habitat.
Munroa squarrosa is a species of grass known by the common name false buffalograss. It is native to North America from central Canada to Chihuahua in Mexico. It can be found in many types of dry, open habitat, including disturbed areas.
Sporobolus montevidensis is a species of grass known by the common name denseflower cordgrass. Although reclassified after a taxonomic revision in 2014, it may still be referred to as Spartina densiflora by some users. It is native to the coastline of southern South America, where it is a resident of salt marshes. It is also known on the west coast of the North America and parts of the Mediterranean coast as an introduced species and in some areas a noxious weed. In California it is a troublesome invasive species of marshes in San Francisco Bay and in Humboldt Bay, where it was introduced during the 19th century from Chile in ballast.
Sporobolus foliosus is a species of grass known by the common name California cordgrass. It was reclassified from Spartina foliosa after a taxonomic revision in 2014. It is native to the salt marshes and mudflats of coastal California and Baja California, especially San Francisco Bay. It is a perennial grass growing from short rhizomes. It produces single stems or clumps of thick, fleshy stems that grow up to 1.5 meters tall. They are green or purple-tinged. The long, narrow leaves are flat or rolled inward. The inflorescence is a narrow, dense, spike-like stick of branches appressed together, the unit reaching up to 25 centimeters long. The lower spikelets are sometimes enclosed in the basal sheaths of upper leaves.
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.
Sporobolus airoides is a species of grass known by the common name alkali sacaton. It is native to western North America, including the Western United States west of the Mississippi River, British Columbia and Alberta in Canada, and northern and central Mexico. It grows in many types of habitat, often in alkali soils, such as in California desert regions.
Sporobolus contractus is a species of grass known by the common name spike dropseed. It is native to western North America, including the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It grows in desert and plateau habitat, in woodlands, scrub, and dry, sandy, open areas.
Sporobolus cryptandrus is a species of grass known as sand dropseed. It is native to North America, where it is widespread in southern Canada, most of the United States, and northern Mexico.
Sporobolus flexuosus is a species of grass known by the common name mesa dropseed. It is native to western North America, where it can be found in the deserts and woodlands of the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico.
Sporobolus vaginiflorus is a species of grass known by the common names poverty grass, poverty dropseed, and sheathed dropseed.
Trisetum canescens is a species of grass known by the common names tall trisetum and tall false oat.
Danthonia compressa is a species of grass known by the common names mountain oatgrass, flattened oatgrass, and slender oatgrass.
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.
Sporobolus junceus is a species of grass known by the common name pineywoods dropseed. It is native to the southern United States.
Sporobolus wrightii is a species of grass known by the common names big sacaton and giant sacaton. It is native to the western United States and northern and central Mexico.