Dichanthelium Nodatum
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''Dichanthelium'' is
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
s of the grass family,
Poaceae Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivate ...
. They are known commonly as rosette grasses and panicgrasses.''Dichanthelium''.
USDA PLANTS.


Taxonomy

Formerly a subgenus of the genus ''
Panicum ''Panicum'' (panicgrass) is a large genus of about 250 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 plant, annual or P ...
'', ''Dichanthelium'' was elevated to genus status in 1974. Its species are still treated as members of ''Panicum'' by some authorities, because the two genera are very similar in form. Molecular data support the recognition of ''Dichanthelium'' as a separate genus.Freckmann, R. W. and M. G. Lelong
''Dichanthelium''.
The Grass Manual. Flora of North America.
The name ''Dichanthelium'' originates from the
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
for "twice-flowering", in reference to the vernal and autumnal growth phases.


Description

These are perennial grasses, sometimes with
rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...
s. The grasses may overwinter as rosettes of short, wide leaves and then produce longer, wider leaves on the stem during spring. They produce hollow stems a few centimeters tall to well over one meter. They are upright to erect when new, then sometimes sprawling, spreading, and bending as the season progresses. The upper stems may have a few main branches that divide into smaller branches bearing
panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...
s. There are primary panicles, which may be
chasmogamous Chasmogamy is the type of plant reproduction in which the flowers open up, enabling cross-pollination. This is in contrast to cleistogamy, in which the flowers stay closed and self-pollinate. Chasmogamous flowers are commonly showy with ope ...
, and secondary panicles, which are often
cleistogamous Cleistogamy is a type of automatic self-pollination of certain plants that can propagate by using non-opening, self-pollinating flowers. Especially well known in peanuts, peas, and pansies, this behavior is most widespread in the grass family. H ...
. The spikelets are roughly 1 to 5 millimeters long and lack awns. In the Chicago area, ''Dichanthelium'' is considered the most emblematic genus of the
Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from an ocean or their seas into a landmass, larger and typically (though not always) with a narrower opening than a bay (geography), bay. The term was used traditionally for large, highly indented navigable bodies of s ...
and
Atlantic coastal plain The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
disjunct habitat found in that region.


Species

There are about 72 species in the genus. Species include:GRIN Species Records of ''Dichanthelium''.
Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).
*''
Dichanthelium aciculare ''Dichanthelium'' is genus of flowering plants of the grass family, Poaceae. They are known commonly as rosette grasses and panicgrasses.Dichanthelium acuminatum ''Dichanthelium acuminatum'', the tapered rosette grass, is a species of grass from the genus ''Dichanthelium'', in North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemisp ...
'' (Sw.) Gould &C.A. Clark – tapered rosette grass, hotsprings rosette grass, hairy panicgrass *''
Dichanthelium adenorhachis ''Dichanthelium'' is genus of flowering plants of the grass family, Poaceae. They are known commonly as rosette grasses and panicgrasses.