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

1092 POACEAE/UROCHLOA
8. Upper glume without distinct cross veins; upper glume and lemma of lower floret
usually puberulent; lemma of lower floret with 5 veins ___________________________ U. ramosa
Urochloa ciliatissima (Buckley) R.D. Webster, (very fringed with hairs), FRINGED SIGNAL GRASS,
FRINGED LIVER-SEED GRASS, SANDHILL GRASS. Perennial 10–50 cm tall; culms erect or usually decumbent
below; inflorescence with few, short, spreading or ascending branches and relatively
few spikelets; spikelets (3–)3.5–4.5 mm long; lower glume glabrous, ca. 3/4 as long as spikelet;
upper glume densely long-hairy; lemma of sterile floret glabrous except for pilose margins.
Rocky or sandy open sites; widespread in TX but more commonly in the s and w parts of the
state; AR, NM, OK, and TX. May–Sep. [Brachiaria ciliatissima (Buckley) Chase]
Urochloa fusca (Sw.) B.F. Hansen & Wunderlin, (brown, dusky), HURRAH GRASS, BROWNTOP,
BROWN-TOP SIGNAL GRASS, FIELD GRASS, BROWN-TOP LIVER-SEED GRASS. Annual with spreading to
erect, branching culms 10–85 cm long; inflorescence with primary branches appressed or
erect-spreading, unbranched or sometimes rebranched, the branches and pedicels often with
some long whitish hairs; spikelets 2.4–3.5 mm long; lower glume 1/4–1/3 as long as spikelet;
glumes and lemma of lower floret glabrous, often brownish. Dried-up pond or stream margins,
roadsides, disturbed sites; throughout much of TX but less common in the Pineywoods and
Panhandle; s U.S. from FL w to AZ. May–Oct. [Brachiaria fasciculata (Sw.) Parodi, Brachiaria
fasciculata var. reticulata (Torr.) Vickery, Panicum fasciculatum Sw. var. reticulatum (Torr.) Beal,
Panicum reticulatum Torr., U. fasciculata var. reticulata (Torr.) R.D. Webster—invalid] The complicated
nomenclatural history of this species was discussed by Wunderlin and Hansen (2001).
Urochloa maxima (Jacq.) R.D. Webster, (largest), GUINEA GRASS, GUINEA LIVER-SEED GRASS. Rhizomatous
perennial; culms (0.6–)1–2.5 m tall; inflorescence an open panicle 20–50(–65) cm
long, the branches at lowest node in whorls, the primary branches with secondary and tertiary
branches (the plant thus superficially very much resembling Panicum); spikelets 2.7–3.6 mm
long, glabrous; lower glume ca. 1/3 as long as spikelet. Weedy areas, presumably escaping from
cultivation; Harris (Brown 24214, SBSC), Bell, Dallas, Travis, and Williamson (Barkworth et al.
2002) cos.; also Galveston Co. (SBSC, TAES); scattered in the s U.S. in CA, FL, GA, LA, OK, and
TX. Sep–Nov. Native of Africa. [Panicum maximum Jacq.] This species is an important forage
grass, particularly in tropical-subtropical pastures (Gould 1975b). I
Urochloa mutica (Forssk.) T.Q. Nguyen, (blunt, pointless), PARA LIVER-SEED GRASS, PARA GRASS.
Perennial with culms long, decumbent and rooting at lower nodes, the upright portion usually
90–200(–300) cm tall; inflorescence with 10–30 unbranched, spike-like branches, the branches
2.5–8 cm long; spikelets 2.5–3.5 mm long; lower glume 1/5 –1/3 as long as spikelet. Moist disturbed
areas; Jefferson Co. (BRIT, TAES) at se corner of East TX; a Brazos Co. record (Turner et al.
2003) was collected at the Agricultural Experiment Station and is therefore presumably cultivated;
mainly s tip of TX; AL, FL, SC, and TX. Sep–Dec. Native of Africa. [Brachiaria mutica
(Forssk.) Stapf, Panicum muticum Forssk., Panicum purpurascens Raddi] This species is grown
as a forage crop in the tropics (Wipff & Thompson 2003). I
Urochloa platyphylla (Munro ex C. Wright) R.D. Webster, (broad-leaved), BROAD-LEAF SIGNAL
GRASS, BROAD-LEAF LIVER-SEED GRASS. Coarse annual with decumbent and spreading culm
bases, ca. 30–60(–100) cm tall; inflorescence with primary branches unbranched, the branches
3–8 cm long, widely spaced, winged (the plant thus superficially very much resembling
Paspalum); spikelets 3.5–4.5(–5) mm long, without a distinct tuft of hairs at base; lower glume
1/4–1/3 as long as spikelet; glumes and lemma of lower floret glabrous. Disturbed areas, roadsides,
ditches; in much of the e 1/2 of TX; se U.S. from VA s to FL w to MO, OK, and TX. Apr–Nov.
[Brachiaria platyphylla (Munro ex C. Wright) Nash, Paspalum platyphyllum Griseb. not
Schult.] See note at U. mosambicensis (following U. texana).
Urochloa ramosa (L.) R.D. Webster, (branched), BROWNTOP-MILLET, DIXIE LIVER-SEED GRASS. Annual;
culms 25–100 cm tall; inflorescence branches ascending, often rebranched; spikelets (2.4–)