Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Ctenium aromaticum
FAMILY
Poaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Its inflorescence is held horizontally or ascending (but almost always "bent" from the angle of the stem) and looking like a fine-toothed comb, averaging 3-4" long. In autumn after seedfall, the inflorescences curl into attractive shapes. Learn more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
The entire plant is aromatic and numbs the mouth, tongue, and lips when chewed, hence the specific epithet and common names. Sterile clumps can be recognized by the rather broad, bicolored leaves (bluish on the upper surface, bright green on the lower surface). Read more in Weakley's Flora (2023).
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ctenium aromaticum
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Ctenium aromaticum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25 (2003)
Ctenium aromaticum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Ctenium aromaticum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-51-001:
Ctenium aromaticum FAMILY Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Ctenium aromaticum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Campulosus aromaticus
COMMON NAME:
Toothache Grass, Orangegrass, Wild Ginger
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_caar31_001_lvd
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_ctar_002_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm060423_074
April Berkeley County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
A recurved 1-sided spike bearing spikelets in 2 rows, with conspicuous awns, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
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JK Marlow jkm060423_116
April SC
Francis Marion National Forest
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_10231869850425232
July Hoke County NC
Flowers on only one side of the spike, each with awns, looking comblike, per Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011).
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Keith Bradley kab_c_aromaticum_79748
September Highlands County FL
Kissimmee Prairie State Park
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Sharleen Johnson shj_858604585486251
December Charleston County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Ctenium aromaticum
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ctenium aromaticum
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Ctenium aromaticum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25
Ctenium aromaticum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Ctenium aromaticum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-51-001:
Ctenium aromaticum
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Ctenium aromaticum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Campulosus aromaticus
1955
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial
Habitat: Wet pine savannas, pocosin-savanna ecotones, seepage bogs, sandhill-pocosin ecotones, sandhill seeps, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Coastal Plain
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal & low alternate, 2-ranked
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Spikelets tan to light brown
Inflorescence a spike
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Grain red
Grain
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p237
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p265
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p363
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p380
- Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950) p516
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p109
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p182
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p412
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p216
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".