North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Dichanthelium scoparium

Dichanthelium scoparium (Lam.) Gould

velvet witchgrass, velvet panicum

Synonym(s): Panicum scoparium

Dichanthelium scoparium (Velvet Witchgrass)

Image ID: 14101
Image by: Sorrie, Bruce A.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: DISC3
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Dichanthelium scoparium
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2018-08-28

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: DICHA2
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Dichanthelium
GENUS AUTHORITY: (Hitchc. & Chase) Gould
GENUS COMMON: Rosette grass
GENUS SUMMARY: (by Richard J. LeBlond)
GENUS IDENTIFICATION: Identification notes: Dichanthelium has often been treated as subgenus Dichanthelium of Panicum. It is most readily (though not consistently) separated from Panicum by the following combination of features: plants producing over-wintering rosettes of leaves often shorter and broader than the culm leaves; plants producing simple culms with terminal panicles in spring, the culms branching and producing panicles only on branches in the summer and autumn. Perhaps the most complex and confusing genus in our region, Dichanthelium requires careful collection and close observation of several characters to determine to which taxon a specimen belongs, or at least to which taxa it seems most closely aligned. A taxon that is distinct in one part of its range may be indistinguishable from another taxon elsewhere. This is particularly true of Coastal Plain species adapted to natural (and now human) disturbances. Although hybridization is frequently suspected in Dichanthelium, documentation of natural hybrids is rare.
GENUS REFERENCES: Gould and Clark (1978)=Z; Freckmann (1981)=Y; Lelong (1984)=X; LeBlond (2001)=Q; Weakley et al. (2011)=V; Davidse and Polh (1992); Hansen & Wunderlin (1988); Hitchcock & Chase (1910); Freckmann & Lelong (2002). The treatment of Dichanthelium sect. Lanuginosa (=D. acuminatum group) is based closely on Y. The contributor must take responsibility for the treatment of sect. Angustifolia (including D. hirstii), sections Dichotoma and Ensifolia (the D. dichotomum group), and for sect. Lancearia. Other treatments are based largely on Z.

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: POACEA
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Poaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: (R. Brown) Barnhart 1895 or GRAMINEAE A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Grass Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 771 genera and 12,074 species, herbs (and some shrubs and trees), cosmopolitan. Tribal classification largely follows FNA (2003a, 2007a), with some changes based on subsequent research, as for instance in the Chloridoideae (Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson 2010a).
FAMILY REFERENCE: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2003a, 2007a)=FNA; Hitchcock and Chase (1950)=HC; Blomquist (1948); Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson (2010a, 2010b). Key to genera adapted in large part from FNA.

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT:

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Grass/Grasslike

LEAF ARRANGEMENT:
LEAF COMPLEXITY:
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: May-Oct

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
				x	x	x	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR:

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
					x

FRUITING PERIOD:

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: eastern U.S. to Mexico & West Indies

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text:

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE:
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
418	SOS	2015-07-14	Driskill	View
661	SOS	2016-07-21	Flood	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
4659	1992-0815			View
5757	1995-0883			View
8129	2004-0138	2006-05-19		View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
6988	4659	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View
8271	5757	204	NCBG staff	1993-01-01	View
11383	8129	200	NCBG staff	2003-03-03	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: DISC3
USDA Common Name: Velvet Panicum
Native Status: L48 (N), PR (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NY, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA), USA+ (PR)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Graminoid

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FACW			FAC	FACW	FACW		FACW	FACW

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Dichanthelium scoparium
COMMON NAME: Velvet Witchgrass
SYNONYMY: [= FNA, K, Pa, Va, Z; = Panicum scoparium Lamarck - C, F, G, GW, HC, RAB, S]
PHENOLOGY: May-Oct.
HABITAT: Moist sandy soil of woodland openings and ditches.
COMMENTS: MA and MI south to FL and TX, also in Mexico and West Indies. The dense, velvety pubescence of the internodes, sheaths, and blades of this taxon, combined with the viscid band below the nodes, are diagnostic. See note under D. acuminatum var. fasciculatum regarding Panicum glutinoscabrum.
RANGE MAP:

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Poaceae (R. Brown) Barnhart 1895 or GRAMINEAE A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Grass Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 771 genera and 12,074 species, herbs (and some shrubs and trees), cosmopolitan. Tribal classification largely follows FNA (2003a, 2007a), with some changes based on subsequent research, as for instance in the Chloridoideae (Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson 2010a).
REFERENCE: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2003a, 2007a)=FNA; Hitchcock and Chase (1950)=HC; Blomquist (1948); Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson (2010a, 2010b). Key to genera adapted in large part from FNA.

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Dichanthelium (Hitchc. & Chase) Gould (Rosette grass)
SUMMARY: (by Richard J. LeBlond)
REFERENCE: Gould and Clark (1978)=Z; Freckmann (1981)=Y; Lelong (1984)=X; LeBlond (2001)=Q; Weakley et al. (2011)=V; Davidse and Polh (1992); Hansen & Wunderlin (1988); Hitchcock & Chase (1910); Freckmann & Lelong (2002). The treatment of Dichanthelium sect. Lanuginosa (=D. acuminatum group) is based closely on Y. The contributor must take responsibility for the treatment of sect. Angustifolia (including D. hirstii), sections Dichotoma and Ensifolia (the D. dichotomum group), and for sect. Lancearia. Other treatments are based largely on Z.

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Dichanthelium scoparium in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Dichanthelium scoparium in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Dichanthelium scoparium in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Dichanthelium scoparium in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Dichanthelium scoparium in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Dichanthelium scoparium

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 14101 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 14101 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 14100 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 0 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)