Panicum capillare

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Common Names: witchgrass [1], old-witchgrass [2]

Panicum capillare
Panicum capillare IWF.jpg
Photo by John Hilty hosted at IllinoisWildflowers.info
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Liliopsida – Monocotyledons
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Panicum
Species: P. capillare
Binomial name
Panicum capillare
L.
PANI CAPI DIST.JPG
Natural range of Panicum capillare from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Taxonomic Notes

Synonym: P. capillare var. occidentale (Rydberg)

Variety: none

Description

P. capillare is an annual graminoid of the Poaceae family that is native to North America.[1]

Distribution

P. capillare is found throughout the entirety of the Continental United States and the southern half of Canada. [1]

Ecology

Habitat

Considered a weed in cultivated soils, the common habitats for P. capillare include open sandy pr stony soils, fields, roadsides, and waste places. [3]

Specimens have been collected from habitats that include Full sun in loamy sand of limestone, on an old pocket gopher hole, and in nursery beds and other disturbed places. [4]

Phenology

P. capillare briefly flowers in October and November. [5]

Seed dispersal

Seed dispersal commonly occurs between September and December. [6]

Conservation and Management

P. capillare is considered weedy or invasive depending on the authority involved. [1]

Cultivation and restoration

Photo Gallery

References and notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 USDA Plant Database
  2. Davis, J., J. Eric, et al. (2002). "Vascular flora of Piedmont Prairies: Evidence from several prairie remnants." Castanea 67(1): 1-12.
  3. Weakley, A. S. (2015). Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Chapel Hill, NC, University of North Carolina Herbarium.
  4. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: June 2018. Collectors: Loran C. Anderson, Wilson Baker, William Platt, D.E. Boufford, E.W. WOod) States and counties: Florida (Jackson, Gadsden) Utah (Cache) Georgia (Thomas) Massachusetts (Middlesex)
  5. Pan Flora
  6. West, G. C. (1967). "Nutrition of tree sparrows during winter in central Illinois." Ecology 48(1): 58-67.