Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Erianthus contortus
FAMILY
Poaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Erianthus from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Awn twisting is judged from dry material, either herbarium specimens, mature (and dry) material in the field. With material that is not fully dry, a good life hack is to leave all or part of an inflorescence on the dashboard of a car to dry, per Weakley's Flora (2023).
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Saccharum brevibarbe var. contortum
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25 (2003)
Saccharum brevibarbe var. contortum
SYNONYMOUS WITH New combinations in the Florida flora (Ward, 2001)
Erianthus brevibarbis var. contortus
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-85-002:
Erianthus contortus FAMILY Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Erianthus contortus
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Erianthus contortus
COMMON NAME:
Bent-awn Plumegrass
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_erco2_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_erco2_002_lhd
)
JK Marlow jkm160629_097
June McCormick County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm160629_114
June McCormick County SC
)
Bruce A. Sorrie bas_e_brevibarbis_conto2b
October Moore County NC
)
Bruce A. Sorrie bas_e_brevibarbis_contor2
October Moore County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm071027_001
October Greenwood County SC
Roadside
Nodes glabrous or pubescent with erect deciduous hairs, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).
)
JK Marlow jkm141001_013
October Greenville County SC
Culms 1-2m tall, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).
)
JK Marlow jkm141001_015
October Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm141001_016
October Greenville County SC
Sheaths sparsely pilose at summit or glabrous, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).
)
JK Marlow jkm081101_017
November Greenwood County SC
Roadside
Blades 1-1.5cm wide, scabrous, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).
)
JK Marlow jkm151113_744
November McCormick County SC
Sumter National Forest: Edgefield Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm151113_744b
November McCormick County SC
Sumter National Forest: Edgefield Ranger District
Callus hairs dense, from about half to nearly as long as the spikelet, per Weakley's Flora.
COMPARE
fruit of Plumegrass species
)
JK Marlow jkm151113_755
November McCormick County SC
Sumter National Forest: Edgefield Ranger District
Awn spirally twisted, flattened basally, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Erianthus contortus
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Saccharum brevibarbe var. contortum
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25
Saccharum brevibarbe var. contortum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
New combinations in the Florida flora (Ward, 2001)
Erianthus brevibarbis var. contortus
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-85-002:
Erianthus contortus
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Erianthus contortus
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Erianthus contortus
522
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial
Habitat: Moist to wet clearings, open woodlands and forests, woodland borders, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (rare in Mountains)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Mostly alternate, 2-ranked
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Panicle usually tawny
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Grain reddish
Grain
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p176
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p212
- Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950) p744
- 100 Native Forage Grasses in 11 Southern States (Leithead, Yarlett, & Shiflet, 1971, 2008) p095
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p295
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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