Author
Amy Magro
Best recognition factors
Stems decumbent or scandent; nodes, spikelets, and often the leaves with prickly hairs; one branch per inflorescence node, spikelets usually appressed to branches; anthers 2.
Caryopses
2–2.4 mm, slightly compressed, reddish-brown
Common Name(s)
whitegrass; white cutgrass
Ecology
moist places in woods and along streams
Electronic links
Clayton, W.D., Harman, K.T. and Williamson, H. (2006 onwards). GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora. Species treatment: http://www.kew.org/data/grasses-db/www/imp05910.htm
USDA, NRCS. 2007. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 4 December 2007). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA. species profile: http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LEVI2
Grass Manual on the Web; Utah State University, Intermountain Herbarium: http://herbarium.usu.edu/webmanual/default.htm
Family
Poaceae
Flowering period
July through October
Flowers
2 lodicules, 2 anthers; 1–1.5 mm long, 2 stigmas.
Geographic distribution
Eastward from Wyoming and eastern Texas; eastern Canada, and Brazil; reported for almost all parishes in Louisiana
Habit and stem features
Perennial. Rhizomes short; scaly. Culms decumbent; 50–140 cm tall, 1–1.5 mm thick, branched; may root from lower nodes. Culms more or less glabrous, nodes pubescent.
Inflorescence
panicle ovate, exserted, or enclosed at base by subtending leaf, 10–25 cm long, long-exserted when mature;panicle branches one per node, 8–12 cm long, flexuous, lower one-third naked; spikelets
Leaves
leaf-sheaths smooth, or scaberulous; ligule an eciliate membrane, 1–3 mm long, truncate; leaf-blades 4–20 cm long, 6–15 mm wide, flaccid; leaf-blade surface smooth, or scaberulous, rough on both sides, pilose, hairy abaxially; leaf-blade margins glabrous, or ciliate.
Allen, C. M., D. A. Newman, and H. Winters. 2004. Grasses of Louisiana, 3rd edition. Allen's Native Ventures, LLC., Pitkin, LA.
Clayton, W.D., Harman, K.T. and Williamson, H. (2006 onwards). GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora. http://www.kew.org/data/grasses-db.html. [accessed 04 December 2007; 15:30 GMT]
Pyrah, G. L. 2007. Leersia. In: Flora of North America North of Mexico. Barkworth, M. E., K. M. Capels, S. Long, and M. B. Piep, editors. Vol. 24, Poaceae, part 1. Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford. Also: Grass Manual on the Web: http://herbarium.usu.edu/webmanual/.
USDA, NRCS. 2007. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 18 April 2007). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
References
Leersia virginica Willd.
Species name
Spikelets lacking glumes, composed of 1 bisexual floret, laterally compressed, 2.5–3.6 mm long, 0.4–1.2 mm wide, oblong or ovate, falling entire. lemmas ciliate to nearly glabrous on the keels and margins, glabrous or short-pubescent on the body; palea glabrous or slightly ciliate on the keels; anthers 2.