23. Panicum ravenelii Scribn. & Merr.

Pl. 167 e–h; Map 684

Dichanthelium ravenelii (Scribn. & Merr.) Gould

Plants perennial, without rhizomes, forming tufts. Flowering stems 30–75 cm long, erect or arched, initially unbranched, becoming sparsely branched during the summer and autumn, the nodes densely bearded with long, spreading to downwardly pointed hairs, the internodes usually pubescent with relatively coarse, spreading to ascending hairs, often with a glabrous ring just below the nodes. Foliage in a dense rosette of shorter, somewhat broader leaves at the base and longer, narrower leaves well distributed along the main stems, those of the later branches usually appearing as axillary fascicles of even shorter, narrower leaves. Leaf sheaths densely pubescent with ascending, pustular‑based hairs, the ligule 2.5–4.0 mm long, a conspicuous line or band of stiff hairs. Leaf blades of the main stems 4–12 cm long, 10–22 mm wide, abruptly rounded at the base, hairy on the undersurface, mostly glabrous on the upper surface. Inflorescences 6–11 cm long, the earlier ones larger and more open with mostly spreading to loosely ascending branches (later ones sometimes reduced to small clusters of long‑stalked spikelets), the branches mostly rebranched 1 or more times, not spikelike or 1‑sided, the spikelets appearing mostly long‑stalked at the tips of the branches. Spikelets 3.2–4.3 mm long, elliptic to obovate in outline. Lower glume 1–2 mm long, 1/3–1/2 as long as the spikelet, broadly ovate, sharply pointed at the tip, glabrous or sparsely hairy, nerveless or faintly 1–5‑nerved. Upper glume 3.0–4.2 mm long, elliptic‑obovate, rounded at the tip, 5–9‑nerved, hairy, the hairs sometimes with pustular bases. Lowermost floret usually sterile and with a reduced, inconspicuous palea, the lemma 3.0–4.2 mm long, elliptic‑obovate, rounded at the tip, 5–9‑nerved, hairy, the hairs sometimes with pustular bases. Fertile floret 2.4–3.4 mm long, elliptic, rounded to bluntly pointed at the tip. Anthers 0.3–1.3 mm long. 2n=18. May–July (vernal), June–October (autumnal).

Scattered in the Ozark and Ozark Border Divisions (southeastern U.S. west to Missouri and Texas). Mesic to dry upland forests and glades, mostly on acidic substrates; also old fields.