Dichanthelium
Dichanthelium is genus of flowering plants of the grass family, Poaceae. They are known commonly as rosette grasses and panicgrasses.
Taxonomy
Formerly a subgenus of the genus Panicum, 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.The name Dichanthelium originates from the Greek for "twice-flowering", in reference to the vernal and autumnal growth phases.
Description
These are perennial grasses, sometimes with rhizomes. 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 panicles. There are primary panicles, which may be chasmogamous, and secondary panicles, which are often cleistogamous. 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 and Atlantic coastal plain disjunct habitat found in that region.
Species
There are about 72 species in the genus. Species include:- Dichanthelium aciculare Gould & C.A.Clark - needleleaf rosette grass, narrow-leaved panicgrass
- Dichanthelium acuminatum Gould &C.A. Clark - tapered rosette grass, hotsprings rosette grass, hairy panicgrass
- Dichanthelium adenorhachis Zuloaga
- Dichanthelium aequivaginatum Zuloaga
- Dichanthelium albomaculatum Gould
- Dichanthelium angustifolium Gould
- Dichanthelium annulum LeBlond
- Dichanthelium assurgens Zuloaga
- Dichanthelium boreale Freckmann - northern panicgrass
- Dichanthelium boscii Gould & C.A.Clark - Bosc's panicgrass
- Dichanthelium cabrerae Zuloaga
- Dichanthelium caerulescens Correll
- Dichanthelium caparoense Zuloaga
- Dichanthelium chamaelonche Freckmann & Lelong - small-seeded panicgrass
- Dichanthelium clandestinum Gould - deertongue
- Dichanthelium columbianum Freckmann
- Dichanthelium commonsianum Freckmann
- Dichanthelium commutatum Gould - variable panicgrass
- Dichanthelium congestum Zuloaga
- Dichanthelium conjugens C.A.Clark & Gould
- Dichanthelium cordovense Davidse
- Dichanthelium cucaense Zuloaga
- Dichanthelium cumbucana Zuloaga
- Dichanthelium cynodon C.A.Clark & Gould - tussock panicgrass
- Dichanthelium davidsei Zuloaga
- Dichanthelium depauperatum Gould - starved panicgrass
- Dichanthelium dichotomum Gould - cypress panicgrass, forked panicgrass
- Dichanthelium ensifolium Gould - sword-leaf panicgrass
- Dichanthelium forbesii C.A. Clark & Gould
- Dichanthelium fusiforme Harvill
- Dichanthelium hebotes Zuloaga
- Dichanthelium heliophilum Zuloaga
- Dichanthelium hillebrandianum C.A.Clark & Gould - bog rosette grass
- Dichanthelium hirstii Kartesz - Hirst's panicgrass
- Dichanthelium implicatum Kerguélen
- Dichanthelium isachnoides C.A.Clark & Gould - Maui rosette grass
- Dichanthelium itatiaiae Zuloaga
- Dichanthelium joori Mohlenbr.
- Dichanthelium koolauense C.A.Clark & Gould - Koolau rosette grass
- Dichanthelium lanuginosum Gould
- Dichanthelium latifolium Harvill - broadleaf rosette grass
- Dichanthelium laxiflorum Gould - openflower rosette grass, soft-tufted panicgrass
- Dichanthelium leibergii Freckmann - Leiberg's rosette grass
- Dichanthelium leucoblepharis Gould & C.A.Clark
- Dichanthelium lindheimeri Gould
- Dichanthelium linearifolium Gould - slimleaf rosette grass, linear-leaved panicgrass
- Dichanthelium lucidum LeBlond
- Dichanthelium macrospermum Gould
- Dichanthelium malacophyllum Gould - softleaf rosette grass
- Dichanthelium mattamuskeetense Mohlenbr.
- Dichanthelium microcarpon Mohlenbr.
- Dichanthelium nitidum Mohlenbr.
- Dichanthelium nodatum Gould - Sarita rosette grass
- Dichanthelium nudicaule B.F. Hansen & Wunderlin - naked-stemmed panicgrass
- Dichanthelium oligosanthes Gould - Heller's rosette grass, fewanther obscuregrass, few-flowered panicgrass
- Dichanthelium ovale Gould & C.A.Clark - eggleaf rosette grass, stiff-leaved panicgrass
- Dichanthelium pantrichum Davidse
- Dichanthelium pedicellatum Gould - cedar rosette grass, corm-based panicgrass
- Dichanthelium peristypum Zuloaga
- Dichanthelium perlongum Freckmann - long-stalked panicgrass
- Dichanthelium petropolitanum Zuloaga
- Dichanthelium polyanthes Mohlenbr. - many-flowered panicgrass
- Dichanthelium portoricense B.F.Hansen & Wunderlin - blunt-glumed panicgrass
- Dichanthelium pycnoclados Davidse
- Dichanthelium ravenelii Gould - Ravenel's rosette grass
- Dichanthelium sabulorum Gould & C.A.Clark - hemlock rosette grass
- Dichanthelium scabriusculum Gould & C.A.Clark - woolly rosette grass, tall-swamp panicgrass
- Dichanthelium sciurotis Davidse
- Dichanthelium sciurotoides Davidse
- Dichanthelium scoparioides Mohlenbr.
- Dichanthelium scoparium Gould - velvet panicum
- Dichanthelium scribnerianum Gould
- Dichanthelium sendulskyii Zuloaga
- Dichanthelium sphaerocarpon Gould - roundseed panicgrass, round-fruited panicgrass
- Dichanthelium sphagnicola LeBlond
- Dichanthelium stigmosum Zuloaga
- Dichanthelium stipiflorum Zuloaga
- Dichanthelium strigosum Freckmann - roughhair rosette grass, cushion-tuft panicgrass
- Dichanthelium superatum Zuloaga
- Dichanthelium surrectum Zuloaga
- Dichanthelium telmatum Zuloaga
- Dichanthelium umbonulatum Davidse
- Dichanthelium viscidellum Gould
- Dichanthelium wilcoxianum Freckmann - fall rosette grass, Wilcox's panicgrass
- Dichanthelium xalapense Kunth
- Dichanthelium xanthophysum Freckmann - slender rosette grass, pale panicgrass
- Dichanthelium yadkinense Mohlenbr.