Plants annual; tufted. Culms 20-120 cm. Ligules 5-11 mm, pubescent, entire or lacerate, usually folded back; blades 4-10(20) mm wide, flat, scab-rous. Panicles 7-30 cm; branches spikelike, usually 1-2 cm. Spikelets 2-3 mm, round to ovate in side view, with 1 floret, a second undeveloped or well-developed floret occasionally present. Glumes appearing inflated, strongly keeled, 3-veined, apiculate; lemmas 2.4-3.5 mm, unawned, sometimes mucronate; paleas subequal to the lemmas, acute; anthers 0.5-1(1.5) mm, pale yellow. Caryopses shorter than 2 mm, light to medium brown. 2n = 14.
Beckmannia syzigachne grows in damp habitats such as marshes, floodplains, the edges of ponds, lakes, streams, and ditches, and in standing water. It is a good forage grass, but frequently grows in easily damaged habitats.
Annual 5-10 dm; lvs scaberulous, the larger 5-10 mm wide; ligule 5-8.5 mm; panicle 10-30 cm, erect, slender, with numerous overlapping branches 1-5 cm; spikes to 2 cm, contiguous, those of a single branch resembling a 4-rowed spike; spikelets 2.5-3.5 mm long and wide; glumes cross-wrinkled, somewhat inflated toward the elevated midvein; lemma acuminate, its point barely protruding from the glumes; a second, sterile floret sometimes present; lodicules linear, nearly 1 mm; 2n=14. Marshes and wet soil; Alas. to Calif. and N.M., e. to Ill.; O.; w. N.Y., where probably intr.; n. Asia.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
FNA 2007, Field Guide to Forest & Mtn. Plants of N AZ 2009, Ann. Checklist GCNP 1987
Common Name: American sloughgrass Duration: Annual Nativity: Native Lifeform: Graminoid General: Erect, either solitary loosely tufted, tp 150 cm tall, with overlapping spikelets in 2 rows on just one side of panicle branches. Vegetative: Blades 3-10 cm long, 4-10 mm wide, flat, scabrous; stems 20-120 cm long; ligules 5-11 mm long, pubescent, usually folded back, sheaths open. Inflorescence: Panicles spikelike 7-30 cm long, narrow, with erect branches 1-2 cm long; closely overlapping spikelets, laterally compressed, spikelets 2-3 mm long, with usually 1 floret; glumes subequal, appearing inflated, 3-veined, strongly keeled; lemmas 2-3 mm long, unawned, tapering to a point, 3 anthers, caryopses shorter than lemmas. Ecology: Found in damp areas such as marshes, ditches, floodplains, in water and along edges of water at 1200-2700 m (4000-9000 ft). Flowers July-August. Distribution: Found in all nortwestern and north central states and in some states in the northeast. Ethnobotany: Seeds can be ground into flour and used as a cereal. Has also been used for bedding and pillows. Is a good forage grass, but frequently grows in easily damaged habitats due to its affinity for water. Etymology: Bechmannia is hamed for Johan Beckmann, a professor of botany in Germany, and syzigachne comes from Greek syzygos for joined. Editor: LKearsley, 2012