Part 7 - UNC Herbarium

POACEAE 848
Aristida tenuispica A.S. Hitchcock, Southern Arrowfeather. Cp (GA, NC, SC): sandy habitats in the Coastal Plain;
uncommon? August-October. NC south to FL and west to MS. [= HC, S; = A. purpurascens Poiret var. tenuispica (A.S.
Hitchcock) Allred – FNA, K, Z]
Aristida tuberculosa Nuttall, Seabeach Needlegrass. Cp (GA, NC, SC, VA): sandhills, coastal dunes (in VA), other dry,
sandy habitats such as sandy roadsides; common, rare in VA (VA Watch List). August-October. Se. NH south to NJ and
disjunct in e. VA in the outer Coastal Plain; from sc. NC south to Panhandle FL and west to s. MS (Sorrie & Leonard 1999),
mostly in the inner Coastal Plain; and also near the Great Lakes in sw. MI, n. IN, n. IL, s. WI, se. MN, and e. IA. The curious
trimodal distribution is unexplained. [= RAB, C, F, FNA, G, HC, K, S, Z]
Aristida virgata Trinius. Cp (GA, NC, SC, VA), Pd (GA), Mt (NC): moist to wet savannas, mountain bogs (Henderson
Co., NC), other moist habitats; common. August-October. S. NJ south to FL, west to TX, primarily on the Coastal Plain. [=
RAB, C, F, G, GW, HC, S; = A. purpurascens Poiret var. virgata (Trinius) Allred – FNA, K, Z]
* Aristida adscensionis Linnaeus, Sixweeks Three-awn, has been reported as an introduction (from western United States) in
SC (FNA, Kartesz 1999). {investigate} [= F, FNA, G, K] {not keyed at this time; synonymy incomplete}
Aristida basiramea Engelmann ex Vasey, Forktip Three-awn. Occurs in VA, SC, etc. (FNA). [= F, FNA, G, K; = A.
basiramea var. basiramea – C] {not keyed at this time; synonymy incomplete}
Aristida gyrans Chapman, Corkscrew Three-awn. Cp (GA): dry pinelands; rare (GA Special Concern). E. GA and w.
Panhandle FL, south to s. FL. In Bryan, Long, and Montgomery counties in e. GA (Sorrie 1998b), and in wc. GA (J. Allison,
pers. comm.). [= FNA, K, S] {not keyed at this time; synonymy incomplete}
Aristida ramosissima Engelmann ex A. Gray. East to Panhandle FL, c. TN, and e. KY (FNA) and might occur in our area.
It is similar to A. oligantha and will key to it; it differs in having the central awn of the lemma 9-30 mm long (vs. 30-70 mm
long), and the awn of the second glume 3-7 mm long (vs. 7.5-17 mm long). [= C, F, FNA, G, K, S] {not keyed at this time;
synonymy incomplete}
Allred (1986) reports the collection of several additional non-native species from our area, including A. divaricata Willdenow
from sw. United States (from a Soil Conservation Service test nursery in Chapel Hill, NC) and uncertainly identified material of
an Australian species (from a wool-combing mill at Jamestown, SC). There is no evidence that either are naturalized.
References: Tucker (1996)=Z.
Arrhenatherum Palisot de Beauvois (False Oatgrass)
1 Base of culm consisting of a series of adjacent (moniliform) corms ca. 1 cm in diameter...................A. elatius var. bulbosum
1 Base of culm not swollen or cormose ....................................................................................................... A. elatius var. elatius
* Arrhenatherum elatius (Linnaeus) J. & K. Presl var. bulbosum (Willdenow) Spenner, Tuber Oatgrass, Onion Couch.
(VA): habitat in our area not known; abundance not known, introduced from Europe. This variety was apparently cultivated for
the edible tubers in Bronze Age Europe (Tucker 1996). Cited for VA in HC. [= C, F, G, HC, K, Z; < A. elatius – GW, W; = A.
elatius var. tuberosum Thiel. – S]
* Arrhenatherum elatius (Linnaeus) J. & K. Presl var. elatius, Tall Oatgrass. Pd (GA, NC, VA), Mt, Cp (NC, VA):
meadows, fields, roadsides; common, introduced from Europe. May-June. [= C, F, G, HC, K, S, Z; < A. elatius – RAB, GW,
W]
Arthraxon Palisot de Beauvois (Basket Grass)
References: van Welzen (1981)=Y; Thieret in FNA (2003a); Kiger (1971)=Z.
Identification notes: Sometimes confused (especially before flowering) with Microstegium, but Arthraxon has distinctly
cordate-clasping leaves, which Microstegium lacks. Also vegetatively similar to Oplismenus.
* Arthraxon hispidus (Thunberg) Makino var. hispidus, Basket Grass. Cp, Pd, Mt (GA, NC, SC, VA): moist ditches,
bottomlands, disturbed areas; common, native of se. Asia. September-October. Like Microstegium, Arthraxon appears to be
steadily increasing its abundance in our area. [= FNA, Y; < A. hispidus – C, GW, K, Z; > A. hispidus var. cryptatherus (Hackel)
Honda – RAB, F, G, HC, W]
Arundinaria Michaux (Cane)
Both species of Arundinaria were much reduced by the foraging of free-range livestock in the eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries and by fire suppression in the late nineteenth century and throughout the twentieth century. "Canebrakes," large areas
dominated by cane, were described in many historical accounts and apparently occupied large parts of the landscape of the