Dichanthelium villosissimum
| Dichanthelium villosissimum | |
|---|---|
| |
| Photo by Illinois Wildflowers | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants |
| Class: | Liliopsida - Moncots |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae - Grasses |
| Genus: | Dichanthelium |
| Species: | D. villosissimum |
| Binomial name | |
| Dichanthelium villosissimum (Nash) | |
| |
| Natural range of Dichanthelium villosissimum from USDA NRCS Plants Database. | |
Common Name(s): white-haired witchgrass, whitehair rosette grass[1][2], hairy panic grass;[3] white-haired panic grass[4]
Contents
Taxonomic Notes
Variation(s): Dichanthelium villosissimum var. villosissimum; D. villosissimum var. praecocius[1][2]
Synonym(s):D. acuminatum var. vilosum; D. lanuginosum var. villosissimum; D. ovale ssp. pseudopubescens; D. villosissimum var. pseudopubescens; Panicum acuminatum var. villosissimum; P. acuminatum var. villosum; P. nitidum var. villosum; P. ovale var. pseudopubescens; P. ovale var. villosum; P. pseudopubescens; P. villosissimum; P. villosissimum var. pseudopubescens[2]
Description
D. villosissimum is a monoecious perennial graminoid[2] that can be found growing in small clumps.[5]
Distribution
This species is found from Maine and Massachusetts south to Florida and westward to Texas, the Dakota's, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. It is also recorded in Oregon and California as well as eastern Canada and parts of Mexico and Mesoamerica.[1][2]
Ecology
Habitat
D. villosissimum is found in dry sandy soils of open woodlands and prairies.[1] In a study comparing mature dry sand prairies, 60 yr and 30 yr successional fields, frequency and average cover decreased with decreasing length of establishment. This suggests it colonizes slowly compared to other species.[3][6] On dry sand prairies in 1908, D. villosissimum was responsible for up to 75% of vegetation cover [7] In loamy longleaf pine savannas, D. villosissimum abundance was directly correlated with light levels indicating D. villosissimum is a heliophyte.[8]
Phenology
Flowering and fruiting occur between April and September.[1]
Seed bank and germination
Densities of seeds in the seed banks of Indiana oak savannas averaged a density of 32 seeds per square meter. In secondary dunes, densities had a mean of 45 seeds per square meter.[9] Seeds in the seed bank are also more frequent in older successional habitats.[6]
Fire ecology
Fire was shown to increase the frequency of D. villosissimum and other C3 plants in Illinois dry sandstone barrens and Florida longleaf pine sandhills, especially where wiregrass is dominant.[10][11]
Conservation and Management
Cultivation and restoration
Photo Gallery
References and notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Weakley A. S.(2015). Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Herbarium.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 USDA, NRCS. (2016). The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 7 December 2017). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 McClain W. E., Schwegman J. E., Strole T. A., Phillippee L. R., and Ebinger J. E. (2008). Floristic study of sand prairie-scrub oak nature preserve, Mason County, Illinois. Castanea 73(1):29-39
- ↑ Pavlovic N. B., Leicht-Young S. A., and Grundel R. (2011). Short-term effects of burn season on flowering phenology of savanna plants. Plant Ecology 212(4):611-625.
- ↑ McClain W. E., Phillippe L. R., and Ebinger J. E. (2005). Floristic assessment of the Henry Allan Gleason Nature Preserve, Mason County, Illinois. Castanea 70(2):146-154.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Oosting H. J. and Humphreys M. E. (1940). Buried viable seeds in a successional series of old field and forest soils. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 67(4):253-273.
- ↑ Robertson K. R., Phillippe L. R., Levin G. A., and Moore M. J. (1997). Delineation of natural communities, a checklist of vascular plants, and new locations for rare plants at the Savanna Army Depot, Carroll and Jo Daviess Counties, Illinois. University of Illinois, Urbanna-Champaign, Illinois.
- ↑ Platt W. J., Carr S. M., Reilly M., Fahr J. (2006). Pine savanna overstorey influences on ground-cover biodiversity. Applied Vegetation Science 9:37-50.
- ↑ Leicht-Young S. A., Pavlovic N. B., Grundel R., and Frohnapple K. (2009). A comparison of seed banks across a sand dune successional gradient at Lake Michigan dunes (Indiana, USA).
- ↑ Taft J. B. (2003). Fire effects on community structure, composition, and diversity in a dry sandstone barrens. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 130(3):170-192.
- ↑ Rodgers H. L. and Provencher L. (1999). Analysis of longleaf pine sandhill vegetation in Northwest Florida. Castanea 64(2):138-162.
