keys to the vascular plants of east texas - Botanical Research ...

948 POACEAE/FESTUCA
2. Lemma of lower floret pale to golden brown; margins of lemma of lower floret ciliate the
entire length, the hairs appressed to spreading and more than 0.5 mm long; lemma of upper
floret 1.2–1.5 mm long __________________________________________________________ E. caribaea
Eustachys caribaea (Spreng.) Herter, (of the Caribbean), CARIBBEAN FINGER GRASS, CHICKEN-
FOOT GRASS. Tufted rhizomatous perennial; culms to 70 cm tall; leaf blades (4–)6–10 mm wide;
inflorescence of 4–9(–10) digitately arranged, spike-like branches, the branches 4–9 cm long;
spikelets 2–2.5 mm long; lowermost lemma with keel and margins ciliate, otherwise glabrous;
lemma of sterile floret obconic-cylindrical, truncate. Roadsides, pastures, disturbed areas;
Fayette (BRIT); Bexar, Brazos (TAES), Caldwell, and Gonzales (Wipff & Hatch 1992) cos.; also n
Gulf Prairies and Marshes; GA, LA, MS, and TX. Apr–Sep. Native of Central and South America
(the describing author, Sprengel, mistakenly thought it came from the Caribbean—Nowack 1995).
[Chloris bahiensis Steud., Chloris capensis (Houtt.) Thell. var. bahiensis (Steud.) Parodi, Chloris
caribaea Spreng., E. paspaloides (Vahl.) Lanza & Mattei subsp. caribaea (Spreng.) Nowack] First
reported in the U.S. from LA by McKenzie et al. (1987a). The first TX report was by Wipff and
Hatch (1992). This taxon is extremely closely related to E. paspaloides of Africa; Nowack (1995),
upon examining both African and American material, concluded that the differences do not justify
distinguishing separate species and recognized the African and American representatives at the
subspecific level. While the African and New World taxa appear quite similar, we are following
the recent treatment by Aulbach (2003) in recognizing E. caribaea at the specific level. I
Eustachys petraea (Sw.) Desv., (growing on stony ground, rock-loving), PINEWOODS FINGER
GRASS, STIFF-LEAF FINGER GRASS. Tufted to stoloniferous perennial with erect culms 20–90(–120)
cm tall; leaf blades ca. 2.5–10 mm wide; inflorescence with (2–)4–8(–11) branches, the branches
4–12 cm long; spikelets ca. 1.8–2.5 mm long; lemma of sterile floret cylindrical, truncate. Sandy
soils, open areas, open woods; Milam (BRIT), Hardin (ASTC), Colorado, Fayette, Harris, Lavaca,
Liberty, Montgomery, and Trinity (Turner et al. 2003) cos. in se part of East TX; also Gulf Prairies
and Marshes and South TX Plains; se U.S. from NC s to FL w to TX. Mar–Dec. [Chloris
petraea Sw.]
Eustachys retusa (Lag.) Kunth, (retuse, notched slightly at apex), ARGENTINIAN FINGER GRASS.
Tufted perennial with erect culms 25–90 cm tall; leaf blades 4–7(–12) mm wide; inflorescence
of (3–)6–15 branches, the branches 4–10 cm long; spikelets ca. 1.9–2.4 mm long; lemma of fertile
floret pale brown, the margins conspicuously ciliate, the hairs to ca. 1–2 mm long and often
spreading at right angles to the lemma margin, otherwise lemmas glabrous; lemma of sterile
floret ca. 1.1–1.2 mm long, cylindrical to narrowly obtriangular and truncate. Disturbed roadsides;
Falls, Limestone, Robertson (BRIT), Kaufman (ASTC), Bastrop, Brazos, Houston,
McLennan, Milam, and Walker (Turner et al. 2003) cos.; also Brazoria Co. (Turner et al. 2003) in
the Gulf Prairies and Marshes; mainly TX, also FL, NY, and SC. May–Sep. Native to South
America. [Chloris argentina (Hack.) Lillo & Parodi] I
Eustachys distichophylla (Lag.) Nees, (with leaves arranged in two ranks), WEEPING FINGER
GRASS, native to South America, has been reported for TX (e.g., Hitchcock 1951; McKenzie et al.
1987a), apparently based on misidentified material of E. retusa (Wipff & Hatch 1994); it is
therefore not considered a member of the East TX flora. This species has the lemma of fertile
floret with glabrous keel as in E. retusa, but the lemma of sterile floret acute to obtuse (rather
than truncate as in E. retusa) and the lemma of fertile floret longer (2.4 mm or longer versus
� 2.4 mm long in E. retusa). I
FESTUCA L. FESCUE
Tufted perennials; culms erect or slightly decumbent basally; leaf sheaths open; ligule a membrane;
leaf blades 2.5–12 mm wide; inflorescence a panicle, open or contracted; spikelets with