Biorepository Data Portal

Tufted annual 1-6 dm; lvs flat, 1-2 mm wide; infl diffuse, often half as long as the entire plant, the capillary branches eventually widely spreading and themselves branched near the middle; glumes lanceolate, becoming purple, subequal, 1.6-2 mm, nearly glabrous on the keel; lemma very thin, often minutely papillose-scabrous in age, 1.2-1.6 mm, sharply veined, the truncate tip bearing 2 minute setae; awn usually present, inserted just below the lemma-tip, pale, very delicate, flexuous, to 10 mm; callus short-bearded; palea obsolete; 2n=28. Open woods, barrens, fields, and roadsides; Md. to O., Mo., and Kans., s. to Fla. and Tex., and reported as intr. in Mass. and Me.

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

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FNA 2007

Common Name: Elliott's bentgrass Duration: Annual Nativity: Native Lifeform: Graminoid General: Small annual, with erect stems 5-45 cm tall, sometimes geniculate at base with 4-9 nodes, sheaths smooth or minutely roughened. Vegetative: Blades 0.5-4 cm long, 0.5-1 mm wide, flat, becoming involute; ligules 1.5-3.5 mm, dorsal surfaces scabrous, acute apices, rounded or truncate, lacerate. Inflorescence: Open and diffuse panicle 3-20 cm long, 2-12 cm wide, widely ovate, whole panicle detaches after maturity, sometimes enclosed my upper sheaths, lowest node with 1-6 branches; branches minutely roughened, capillary, branching beyond midlength, ascending then laxly spreading; spikelets clustered near tips, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, yellowish purple to greenish purple; equal glumes 1.5-2.5 mm, 1-veined, scabrous on midvein, acute, scabrous margins above; lemmas 1-2 mm, smooth to scabrous to warty, translucent, awned from just below apices, awns 3-10 mm, flexuous, deciduous. Ecology: Found in disturbed sites, especially along roadways around 5,500 ft (1676); flowers April-July. Notes: Similar to A. scabra but differs in having a flexible awn. Noted for Saguaro NP but only collection made in Peloncillo Mountains of southwest New Mexico. This species needs collecting. Ethnobotany: Unknown Etymology: Agrostis is from the Latin and Greek names for a type of grass, from Greek agron or agros, field or pasture, while elliottiana is named for Stephen Elliott (1771-1830) an American botanist. Synonyms: Agrostis exigua Editor: SBuckley, 2010