Panicum hirticaule
Encyclopedia
Panicum hirticaule is a species of grass
known by the common names Mexican panicgrass and roughstalked witchgrass.
, the Colorado Desert
in California
, Mexico
. It can be found throughout Central and South America. It grows in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas.
is a branching panicle
up to 12 centimeters long with rounded spikelets at nodes.
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
known by the common names Mexican panicgrass and roughstalked witchgrass.
Distribution
It is native to the Southwestern United StatesSouthwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
, the Colorado Desert
Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert, which extends across southwest North America. The Colorado Desert region encompasses approximately , reaching from the Mexican border in the south to the higher-elevation Mojave Desert in the north and from the Colorado River in...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. It can be found throughout Central and South America. It grows in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas.
Description
This is a perennial bunchgrass growing 10 to 80 centimeters tall and bearing hairy leaves up to 15 centimeters long. The inflorescenceInflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a branching panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
up to 12 centimeters long with rounded spikelets at nodes.