FIELD ID CHARACTERISTICS:
Look for distinctive clear or sticky ("viscid") band below nodes on stems; leaves and stems velvet hairy.
Synonym(s): Panicum scoparium
Description: A late-branching, leafy plant, somewhat erect, to 1 or 1.25 m tall.
Leaves: Leaves and stems feel like velvet; blades 20 cm long and 10 to 20 mm wide.
Flowers/Fruit: Typical of Dichanthelium species, loose branching panicle at branch tips. Flowering and fruiting May to October.
Habit and Range: Ditches, low woods, marshes, wet savannas or pastures, openings in swamp forests, wet disturbed areas; mainly Coastal Plain and eastern Piedmont. Present, but uncommon to rare in the western Piedmont and Mountains.
COMMON CONFUSIONS:
Dichanthelium scoparium (velvet panicgrass) is distinguishable from other Dichanthelium species by its non-hairy, sticky band below the nodes. Refer to Weakley's key for identifying other Dichanthelium species.
